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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25881199">night sky - reddie</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account'>orphan_account</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>IT (Movies - Muschietti), IT - Stephen King</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Aged-Up Character(s), Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - High School, Fluff and Angst, High School, Homophobic Language, Hurt/Comfort, Injury, M/M, Nightmares, Panic Attacks, Sad and Happy, Sexual Content, Slow Burn, Teen Angst, Teen Romance, Tutoring, Underage Drinking</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-08-13</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-09-04</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-05 09:53:50</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Mature</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>16</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>22,674</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/25881199</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Eddie Kaspbrak is terrible at math, so Richie Tozier becomes his tutor. </p><p>And Eddie soon sees that the dark haired boy is more than his terrible jokes, quick witted remarks and the bad influences of his older friends.</p><p>&gt;now complete&lt;</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Eddie Kaspbrak &amp; Richie Tozier, Eddie Kaspbrak/Richie Tozier</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>57</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>161</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chapter 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>i had this idea in my head ever since i finished my last reddie fic (train wreck).</p><p>if this fic seems like something you won’t like, simply find something else to read… thank you to anybody who chooses to read, leave kudos or a comment. &lt;3</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Eddie Kaspbrak sits at the back of the school library with his best friend and history partner, Bill Denbrough. Their table is secluded within the shelves of books that surround them, but that doesn’t mean they are guarantee complete silence.</p><p>Bill stops scribbling notes in his history textbook, looking up and over to the noise a few feet ahead.</p><p>“In-Inconsiderate assholes,” Bill stutters, staring at Richie Tozier and Stanley Uris standing at the bookcase residing bird watching books.</p><p>“They have to be in alphabetical order Richie!” Stan instructs, dropping the multiple books stacked in his arms on the floor, pushing the dark haired boy aside so he can do it himself.</p><p>Richie holds his hands up in defence, standing on a few books before stepping back from the golden haired boy. “Shit, I was only trying to help.” Richie mutters.</p><p>Eddie, who’s more concerned with his essay, looks up from his notes and over to the two boys testing Bill’s great patience.</p><p>“Fuck them for stocking new books on empty shelves… how despicable.” Eddie says sarcastically, sending a playful smirk over to Bill.</p><p>“E-Exactly!” Bill exclaims, not picking up on the sarcasm.</p><p>Eddie rolls his eyes, continuing to watch the two boys ahead. “You know, Richie tutors me,” Eddie trails off, watching Richie from a distance as he adjusts his glasses, cautiously handing Stanley another book. “He’s not <em>all</em> bad.” He confesses.</p><p>“You wuh-wanna bb-bet?” Bill chuckles. “He’s the bb-biggest class clown there is, and have you ss-seen the people he h-hangs around w-with?”</p><p>Richie shares a lot of the same classes with Stanley and Bill, despite his loud personality and lack of concentration in class, he still manages to get good grades.</p><p>In fact, his grades are<em> so</em> good, he’s appointed by teachers to tutor other students, one of them students being little Eddie Kaspbrak, the dreamlike boy in his Math class Richie never noticed until he started recently tutoring him.</p><p>Though, Richie does hide his intelligence to a certain degree, he tends to dumb himself down when he is with his older friends; Richie finds attention he so desperately wants in the wrong places. It first started with smoking to seem cooler than he actually is, then eventually, it turned into smoking weed and drinking alcohol thanks to his foolish ‘friends’.</p><p>Maybe that’s why Bill isn’t so enthusiastic around the dark haired boy, because Bill <em>knows</em> he has potential.</p><p>“Stanley’s a good friend to R-Richie,” Bill speaks again, looking over to the orderly boy neatly putting books onto the shelf. “It’s a sh-shame they don’t hang out muh-much...”  </p><p>Eddie continues to stare, along with Bill. Richie catches their watchful eyes and he waves over to Eddie in particular, so Eddie waves back to the taller boy, sending him a small smile.</p><p>Bill notices this and raises his eyebrow, and then Richie snaps his brown eyes to Bill. “Hey, Billy bo-“</p><p>“N-No.” Bill cuts him off, turning his attention back to his notebook, not wanting to enable Richie’s terrible nicknames and one-liners.  </p><p>“The guidebook on <em>Mood Swings And Menstrual Cycles</em> is over there,” Richie points to a random book shelf behind Eddie, although Bill is not looking. “Maybe check it out before you leave, Bill.”</p><p>Eddie stifles in a laugh, but decides to back Bill up, seeing his best friend clearly woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning.</p><p>“Maybe once you’re done disrupting the library you should check out a book on <em>STIs And How To Avoid Them.”</em> Eddie fires back, and this time around Bill is the one to let out a light chuckle.</p><p>Richie smirks, but before he can respond, he is being called over by another group sat on the opposite end of the library.</p><p>“Richie!”</p><p>Richie’s head snaps in their direction, and Eddie notices his prominent cheekbones that remind him of a perfectly sculpted art piece in a museum.</p><p>Eddie can’t deny that Richie is<em> beautiful</em>, despite his loud mouth, shitty remarks and expertise in making bad decisions.</p><p>“Am I still tutoring you tonight, Eddie?” Richie asks, lowering his voice slightly, not wanting the older group to hear him.</p><p>It’s hard to tell, but Eddie is sure Richie lowered his voice, not because they’re in a library, but because he doesn’t want the group that beckon him to know he tutors Eddie.</p><p><em>Does he really care so much about what others think? </em>Eddie wonders.</p><p>In response, Eddie only nods, picking his pencil back up as he watches Richie pat Stan’s shoulder before walking over to the rowdy table who are clearly more disruptive than Richie, Stan or anybody else in the library.</p><p>Eddie finds a gap between the bookcases in front of him, looking at the bunch of brainless apes sat across the library. Eddie doesn’t know any of them, but he knows they reek of weed and he can feel his IQ dropping the longer he stares at them.</p><p>Eddie continues to watch as they pick up their backpacks off of the ground, exiting the library and taking Richie along with them, and leaving Stan to put away books on his own.</p><p>“How the fuck does Richie have so many older friends?” Eddie asks Bill, finally breaking his gaze and looking over to the choppy haired boy who hasn’t been watching any of this, turning his attention back to his essay a lifetime ago.</p><p>“He is one of t-the older ones in our grade, mm-maybe he tries to ff-fit that roll I ss-suppose.”</p><p>“You think he’ll ever see sense?” Eddie questions, looking down at his incomplete essay.</p><p>“P-Probably not,” Bill replies. “It would t-take someone pretty <em>special</em> to mm-make Richie ‘trashmouth’ Tozier see s-sense.”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>just putting it out there that i don’t know how american schooling system works so if i mess up and you see british terms or words in general i am sorry.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The late day sun briskly shines down on Eddie as he lugs his backpack filled with textbooks up the steps leading to Richie’s front door.</p><p>He rings the doorbell, waiting patiently for Richie to open the door. He hears the door unlock, the handle twists and the door swings open, revealing the dark haired boy on the other side.</p><p>“Come on in, Eds,” Richie tells him, allowing Eddie to enter before shutting the door and locking it again.</p><p>“Don’t call me that,” Eddie continues. “It’s <em>Eddie</em>.” He corrects, waiting on Richie before venturing off into the kitchen where they usually study. </p><p>“What’s with you and Bill not liking nicknames, huh?” Richie huffs, not really expecting a response.</p><p>Eddie follows Richie into the kitchen, dropping his backpack that has been weighing him down next to the kitchen table.</p><p>Richie’s house is nice, it’s a typical childhood home filled with loving memories and supporting parents. The pictures of Richie and his parents that decorate the Tozier residence interest Eddie for a reason he’s not sure of, in the photos he sees the family have travelled many places outside of Derry.</p><p>Eddie can’t help but think what it would be like to leave Derry, he can’t remember a time where he’s left the small town.</p><p>“My parents are out, but they told me to tell you that you’re always welcome,” Richie confesses, walking over to the sink. “I think they prefer it when you come here for our tutoring sessions.” He adds, grabbing a glass and filling it up with tap water.</p><p>“What makes you think that?” Eddie asks, briefly keeping his eyes on Richie as he rummages in his backpack for his math notebook.</p><p>Richie shrugs, bringing the glass of water to his lips, taking a few sips before responding. “Because then they know I’m where I’m <em>actually </em>supposed to be,” he says honestly. “They don’t like who I hang around with.”</p><p>“Stupid dicks you mean?” Eddie says boldly, not hiding the fact he does not like Richie’s friends, neither does Bill, or Stan…</p><p>Richie walks over to the kitchen table, pulling out a chair and sitting down next to Eddie. “Woah, you don’t hold back, do you?” Richie laughs, but deep down he knows Eddie is right.</p><p>Eddie doesn’t respond, flicking through pages of his notebook, handing a pencil over to Richie.</p><p>“Did you do the Geometry exercise I gave you?” Richie brushes off, focusing on the reason Eddie is here in the first place, for tutoring.</p><p>“Yeah, but I didn’t understand it.” Eddie responds, leaning closer to Richie and showing him the page.</p><p>Richie adjusts his glasses, scanning his eyes over Eddie’s work, their knees touch under the table, but neither of them move away.</p><p>“Okay,” Richie trails off. “So perpendicular lines intersect at a right angle.” Richie explains, drawing an example on Eddie’s page for him to see. He looks up at Eddie, seeing if he grasps the simple explanation. “What degree is the right angle at?” Richie asks softly.</p><p>Eddie stays quiet with each glance, Richie is so patient when it comes to helping him with equations, the gentle expressions of his voice brings a sensation of warmth in the pit of Eddie’s stomach.</p><p>It’s a feeling that can only be associated with deep fondness, but Eddie just puts it down to nerves under Richie’s understanding stare.</p><p>“Old Chap, are you even paying attention? Why, I say-“</p><p>Richie’s awful British accent brings Eddie back to reality, of course Richie is incapable of being serious for longer than two seconds. But unlike Richie’s ability of staying serious, Eddie’s feelings are still consistent for the silly boy sat so close to him.</p><p>“If I get the answer right, do you promise not to do another impression for the next hour?” Eddie asks, hoping for his sake he answers correctly.</p><p>“Alright,” Richie says, leaning back in his chair and watching Eddie’s big innocent eyes scan over the equation.  “I promise.”</p><p>“Um…” Eddie stammers, looking over to Richie hopefully. “90°.”</p><p>Richie nods, a smile tugs at his plump lips. “Let’s see if you know the next one.”</p><p>He draws out another example. “What can’t these parallel lines do?” Richie asks, pointing at the lines with the end of his pencil, his eyes flicker over Eddie’s soft features stricken with confusion.</p><p>Eddie analyses the paper, almost bumping heads with Richie because of how close up the pair are. “They can never meet?” He answers with uncertainty.</p><p>“Damn, are you sure you even need tutoring?” Richie jokes, feeling happy that he and Eddie are getting somewhere with their recent tutoring sessions.</p><p>Eddie’s not sure if it’s because of his desperate need to get answers right so he doesn’t have to hear a bad impression, or if it’s because Richie is actually a <em>good </em>tutor.</p><p>Their tutoring session continues well into the evening, the natural light peaking through the kitchen window eventually fades out, and it’s a sign they should wrap things up before it gets too dark.</p><p>Eddie stands up, putting his books away in his backpack. Seeing this, Richie stretches, his ass feels numb because he’s not used to sitting still for 30 seconds, let alone a few hours.</p><p>“You want me to walk you home?” Richie says nonchalantly, standing up and drinking the rest of the water from his glass.</p><p>“What?” Eddie stops packing away his things for a brief moment when he hears Richie’s thoughtful offer. “You don’t have to do th-“</p><p>“No, no,” Richie interjects, placing his empty glass in the sink. “The streets are dangerous for a fine young boy like yourself to go wondering about alone.” Richie jokes, walking over to the couch and putting on his jean jacket he slung over the armchair earlier. </p><p>“I’m not that much younger than you…” Eddie says as he slings his backpack over his shoulder, looking over to Richie who pulls out his house keys from his pockets.</p><p>“Well… you sure look like it.” Richie smirks as the two exit Richie’s house and enter the streets, the shadows of the trees dance upon the sidewalk as the silver moon rises silently.</p><p>“That’s so not funny.” Eddie say in response, shaking his head as he looks up at the velvet sky above them, the stars blink in infinite patterns.</p><p>“I always lose track of the stars when I count them.” Eddie’s voice softly floats through the quiet street.</p><p>Richie looks over to the pretty boy, he watches Eddie look up at the sky without a care in the world, his chestnut streaked hair reflects gleaming ribbons of lavender moonlight.</p><p><em>He’s cute… really cute</em>. Richie thinks.</p><p>Eddie takes his eyes away from the stars, looking over to the dark haired boy, and Richie doesn’t think he’s ever seen a star shine like Eddie’s eyes, not that he’d admit that out loud.</p><p>“That’s because they all shine differently,” Richie replies, stuffing his hands into his pockets. “Some drift away, and some stay,” he continues. “But they’re still there, even if you can’t see them.”</p><p>Eddie is left speechless at Richie’s words that string together like the patterns of the stars.</p><p>He hitches his heavy backpack further up his shoulder. “You’re not all shitty jokes after all.” Eddie laughs lightly as they enter his street.</p><p>They stop walking, and Eddie turns to face Richie, who looks as though he has something on his mind.</p><p>“I hope you know I’m not a stupid dick,” Richie abruptly admits, thinking about the conversation they had earlier. “Even though the people I hang around with are.”</p><p>Eddie pauses. “Then why do you hang around them?” He asks.</p><p>“They get me cigarettes,” Richie says. “You know, since they’re older.”</p><p>“Okay,” Eddie responds, not sure what else to say when Richie mentions his relationship with these so called friends. “And <em>I know</em>.”</p><p>“You know what?” Richie urges for Eddie to elaborate before they depart.</p><p>“I know you’re not a stupid dick,” Eddie smiles softly. “Who else would go out of their way to tutor me? To walk me home?” Eddie continues his songs of praise. “And who else would help Stanley Uris stock dorky bird books in the library?” Eddie says. “I heard you were the first to sign his petition for the library to get those bird watching books.”</p><p>Only Eddie Kaspbrak would notice something so minuscule, yet so wholesome.</p><p>“You might be<em> many</em> things,” Eddie trails off. “But you’re certainly <em>not</em> a stupid dick Richie Tozier.”</p><p>Richie laughs, and it surfaces with embarrassment that lingers in his tone; everybody is too quick to judge him, they don’t hang around long enough to see him for who he <em>really </em>is.</p><p>But Eddie can see the good in people in an instant, he can see Richie is selfless, he is <em>more</em> than his past mistakes and terrible jokes.</p><p>“Will you be alright walking back?” Eddie asks with a pit of worry in his stomach.</p><p>“I’ll be fine.” Richie smiles.</p><p>So Eddie takes in Richie’s beautiful smile one last time before turning away and heading into his home, not looking back.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Chapter 3</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>this chapter a bit angsty and i want to make clear that i didn’t just throw it in there for no reason so early on in the chapters, i assure you it’s important as a whole :)</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Eddie has been sat in the library for over an hour, Richie’s supposed to be here, helping him with his math homework, but there’s no sight of him, in fact, nobody has seen him all day.</p><p>He stands up, figuring instead of sitting around he is going to find Richie, or someone who might know where he is.</p><p>Eddie sighs in frustration, exiting the quiet library and entering the busy halls, his eyes seek out anyone who looks remotely similar to the dark haired boy with glasses.</p><p>Eddie turns left, then, he sees Bill and Stanley talking outside the science labs. “Bill!” Eddie calls, walking over and earning their attention.</p><p>“E-Eddie!” Bill calls back with enthusiasm, he has yet to notice the frustrated look on Eddie’s face.</p><p>“Have any of you seen Richie today?” Eddie asks the pair, looking over to Bill, then Stanley.</p><p>Stan pauses, backtracking and thinking of the classes he shares with Richie. “We’ve just had Chemistry and he didn’t show.” Stan makes known, clutching his books tightly to his chest.</p><p>“What about PE?” Eddie asks, knowing Stan and Richie also share that class together.</p><p>“He <em>never</em> shows up for PE,” Stan says flatly. “I can’t remember the last time he actually participated in that class.”</p><p>Dread washes over Eddie. The most logical assumption is Richie simply forgot he had a tutoring session with him today, but Eddie can’t shake the feeling that something is terribly wrong.</p><p>Bill notices the worry stricken on Eddie’s face. “H-Hey,” Bill frowns, brushing his fingertips across Eddie’s arm in attempt to comfort him. “I’m ss-sure he’s fine.”</p><p>“No,” Eddie says slightly panicked, shaking his head when the dread in his stomach tightens. “It’s not like him to just <em>disappear</em>.”</p><p>“Yeah,” Stan agrees. “Trashmouth would do <em>anything </em>for attention.” And after a few seconds of silence, Stanley remembers something he heard in his English Lit class. “I heard he got jumped last night…”</p><p>Bill looks over to Stan in shock. “W-Why didn’t y-you open up with that?!” He exclaims.</p><p>Eddie takes in a shaky breath, putting a hand over his mouth. “It’s all <em>my</em> fault,” Eddie gasps.</p><p>Eddie struggles to breathe, not making much sense to Bill and Stan.</p><p>“Eddie, l-look at me,” Bill says, he grabs Eddie’s shoulders gently, making the small boy focus on him. “It’s not your f-fau-“</p><p>Eddie looks up at Bill with wide eyes. “It is!” Eddie interjects. “He walked me home last night after our tutoring session, I’m the reason he got hurt.” Eddie exclaims, closing his eyes and forcing a painful breath in through his nose.</p><p>Stan watches as Eddie spirals into a panic, and it seems as though it’s something that happens often, considering how well Bill is able to console him.</p><p>“Listen to m-me,” Bill demands. “It’s <em>not</em> your f-fault, okay?” Bill’s blue eyes flicker over Eddie’s face, looking for any sighs that his panic is subsiding, but no amount of reassurance is going to get Eddie to calm down.</p><p>He <em>needs</em> to see Richie, to know he’s okay.</p><p>“He doesn’t exactly hang around with the best crowd, Eddie...” Stan admits, trying to assure Eddie, but it only makes the panic he feels worse.</p><p>“Shit…” Stan murmurs, looking around the now secluded halls, it’s then he sees the very boy Eddie worries over enter through the west entrance.</p><p>“Look over there,” Stan taps Bill’s shoulder. “Richie’s fine, Eddie,” Stan says, making sure Eddie has caught sight of Richie. “See?!”</p><p>Eddie catches sight of Richie; his bottom lip is split, he has small cuts littering his face, and a bruise under his right eye, a heartbreaking shade of purple.</p><p>Eddie feels his heart clench. If it weren’t for Richie walking<em> him </em>home, he would have never got hurt.  </p><p>Richie walks (or limps) closer to the chaos surrounding the only group left in the halls, he sees Bill in front of Eddie, trying to calm him down, inhaling and exhaling deep breaths for Eddie to imitate as the small boy fumbles with his inhaler in his grasp.</p><p>“So it’s true then?” Stan directs at Richie. “You got jumped?” He adds, his tone doesn’t hold much concern, unlike the way he reacted to Eddie moments earlier.</p><p>Richie and Stan have a complex relationship. They are comfortable enough around each other to be able to fire back witty remarks and blunt responses despite not being best friends… they do spend a lot of time together in classes after all.</p><p>And because they share almost every class together, the duo do know how to irritate one another. Richie sometimes thinks Stan secretly hates him more days than others.</p><p>“What does it look like?” Richie looks down at himself, showcasing his injuries, then back up at Stan.</p><p>“Why?” Stan asks, raising an eyebrow at Richie.</p><p>“Should I go ask them?” Richie says sarcastically, shaking his head at Stan’s blunt question. “I swear you ask the dumbest fucking questions.”</p><p>“Can you bu-both ss-shut up for 5 seconds?!” Bill raises his voice as he turns to face Richie and Stan, interrupting their bickering.</p><p>The choppy haired boy then looks back over to Eddie; his breaths are still uneven and his gaze is directed on the floor, usually Bill’s words of reassurance and comforting touch is enough to calm his best friend down.</p><p>So now, he doesn’t know what else to do. Bill Denbrough, who has every good quality of a leader, feels <em>helpless.</em></p><p>So Richie steps in.</p><p>“Eddie?” Richie moves closer to Eddie, overtaking Bill’s place in front of Eddie. “Come on, I need you to look up at me, <em>Eds</em>.”</p><p>Richie dips his head lower, his gaze scanning over Eddie’s eyes shut tight, his lungs burning with each breath. “<em>Look</em>at me, can you do that for me, please?” Richie says in a hushed tone.</p><p>Eddie nods, raising his head and looking up at the taller boy. Richie can see the hurt in his eyes, the guilt he feels evident on his soft features.</p><p>I’m okay, see?” Richie smiles through his pain. “I’m still kickin’.”</p><p>Eddie smiles, his shallow breaths become fuller, and his brain begins to register that Richie is right in front of him, and <em>he’s okay.</em></p><p>“I’m so <em>sorry</em>, Richie.” Eddie says, panic threatens to surface once again. “I didn’t know-“</p><p>“None of that,” Richie stops the small boy from blaming himself, pulling him into his chest. “You have <em>nothing</em> to be sorry for,” Richie sighs, resting his chin on Eddie’s soft hair. “My loudmouth was bound to get me into trouble eventually.”</p><p>And as Eddie stands in Richie’s arms, he feels safe, but more importantly, <em>Richie is safe.</em></p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Chapter 4</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Richie sits at the very back table in the library, deliberately hiding himself away so he can sit and think about the many questions on his mind, so he’s caught by surprise when he sees somebody who has been actively searching for him.</p><p>“Bill?” Richie squints, his eyesight is even worse now his right eye is slightly swollen shut.</p><p>The stuttering boy sends Richie a sympathetic smile, quietly walking over and hovering over the seat next to him. “Can I ss-sit?” Bill asks.</p><p>Richie nods. “Ain’t I popular.” He says, moving his backpack off of the chair so Bill can sit down, this action alone makes him wince, he raises a hand to hold his aching ribs.</p><p>“How you ff-feeling?” Bill asks genuinely.</p><p>Richie looks over to Bill, and although the pair haven’t conversed much, Richie can see for himself how kind Bill is; his blue eyes are soft, reassuring, and his stutter doesn’t deter from his wise words, he speaks with such certainty, and he holds a lot of confidence, <em>real </em>confidence.</p><p>Unlike the false confidence that Richie let’s people see.</p><p>“I look worse than I feel.” Richie says in short, not wanting to expand any further. “So why are you here, Bill?” Richie asks, knowing there must be another reason as to why Bill has gone out of his way to find him, and not just to check on how he’s feeling.</p><p>“I- I wanted to s-say thank you,” Bill looks down at the books on Richie’s desk, and he sees a few notes he has ready for Eddie, Richie must be waiting on him for a rescheduled tutoring session. “F-For helping Eddie.”</p><p>The questions on Richie’s mind resurface when Bill mentions Eddie’s name. And what better person to ask these questions other than his best friend, Bill Denbrough.</p><p>“Well I feel like I’m partly to blame-” Richie begins to trail off, but Bill stops him from continuing.</p><p>“That’s b-bullshit.” Bill says, leaning forwards and putting a hand on Richie’s shoulder soothingly. “N-Nobody deserves to get hu-hurt.”</p><p>Richie looks over to Bill’s hand on his shoulder, it makes him feel less tense, and he didn’t even know he was so tense to begin with. “Can I ask you something, Bill?”</p><p>“S-Sure,” Bill nods, slipping his hand away from Richie’s shoulder. “A-Anything.”</p><p>Richie sighs as he thinks how he can ask Bill all these questions on his mind without it becoming 20 questions.</p><p>“Does Eddie have panic attacks often?” Richie asks, but he’s unsure if Bill will share this information with him.</p><p>But Bill tells him, he tells him enough for Richie to understand without invading Eddie’s privacy, because some things are simply not his place.</p><p>Bill leans forward slightly so their conversation remains quiet and private, but it’s not like anybody is around them to listen. “He h-has them a handful of t-times,” Bill says. “But it’s t-the nightmares he has muh-more often.”</p><p>“Nightmares?” Richie repeats, although he hears Bill as clear as church bells.</p><p>Eddie always seems so grounded, so happy. Richie wouldn’t have guessed the small boy has so much going on in his head.</p><p>Bill nods. “It’s usually the pp-panic that s-sets them off,” Bill explains. “Last year in gym class, we b-both got locked in the store room,” Bill trails on, almost forgetting the point of the story. “And- And that made him panic, for the next two w-weeks he had nightmares about us bb-being locked in a small, confined space for days o-on end."</p><p>“How bad are the nightmares?” Richie questions, looking up at Bill.</p><p>“They’re <em>b-bad</em>,” Bill continues, picking at a loose thread on the sleeve of his flannel shirt. “He barely g-gets any sleep.”</p><p>“What does he do to, you know-” Richie doesn’t know how to say it without coming across too invasive, but he decides to continue his sentence anyway. “How does he stop them?” Richie says. “The nightmares that is.”</p><p>Bill leans back in his chair, thinking about his past experience with Eddie and his nightmares. Bill knows not to mention them to Eddie when he wakes up, he has also learned to tread carefully around Eddie for a few days after.</p><p>“He luh-likes to look up at the stars as a distraction,” Bill makes known. “He th-thinks they’re peaceful.”</p><p>Richie thinks back to his conversation with Eddie on their walk home. <em>“I always lose track of the stars when I count them.” </em>Eddie had said.</p><p>And now it holds so much more meaning, Eddie finds comfort in the stars when he can’t find it anywhere else.</p><p>“He’s not panicked like t-that in a long time,” Bill admits, his eyes fixating on Richie’s split lip, then back up to his large and tragic eyes. “I’m ss-surprised you were able to comfort h-him.” Bill continues. “He must really think ss-something of <em>you</em>.”</p><p>Richie brushes off the butterflies that flutter so intensely in his stomach. “What? And you don’t?” Richie smirks. “I’ve seen the way you look at me in Psychics, you aren’t fooling anyone.”</p><p>Bill rolls his eyes, and before he can inflate Richie’s ego any further, the small boy they have just been talking about rounds the corner and makes his way over to their table.</p><p>“Who isn’t Bill fooling?” Eddie asks innocently, hearing the end of their conversation, but he’s completely unaware that they were talking about him.</p><p>Bill and Richie look at one another, not wanting Eddie to find out they were talking about him in such a vulnerable manner, so Richie fabricates some sort of scenario which could be seen as believable.</p><p>“Bill doesn’t think he’s going to fail his French exam,” Richie stammers, watching Eddie as he takes the seat next to him, and opposite to Bill. “I mean, the boy can’t even say a sentence in English without stuttering,” Richie continues despite the glare Bill is sending his way. “What makes you think this oral French exam is going to be any different, Bill?!” Richie still keeps talking. “You’re not fooling me, that’s for damn sure.”</p><p>“Va te faire foutre.” Bill says to Richie without stuttering.</p><p>Richie isn’t fluent in French, but he is sure that means ‘fuck you’ in the language Bill actually doesn’t struggle with, if anything it helps him with his speech impediment.</p><p>Richie uncomfortably laughs, averting his gaze from Bill and over to Eddie.</p><p>“Right,” Eddie’s not sure what to think, but he doesn’t question it. “Well I think you’re going to ace it Bill.” Eddie smiles over to Bill.</p><p>“T-Thanks, Eddie.” Bill lightens up, keeping up the act although Eddie doesn’t seem too suspicious, the small boy is too busy looking up at Richie, his swiss chocolate eyes scanning over every scrape and bruise on Richie’s face.</p><p>Richie can feel his eyes on him, so he insecurely looks over to Eddie before saying. “Is my face that fucked?”</p><p>“No!” Eddie says quickly, his voice loud in the quiet library, so loud that a few heads turn in their direction. “It’s just-“ Eddie goes quiet, pressing his lips together. “Did you see their faces?” He adds.</p><p>“No,” Richie breathes out. “It was too dark, but I know they had pretty heavy boots on… kicked the shit out of me.” Richie mindlessly laughs, but neither Bill nor Eddie laugh with him, they don’t find it funny in the slightest.</p><p>“Who do you think did it?” Eddie says downhearted. “Who would want to hurt you?”</p><p>“I’m sure I am at the top of someone’s hate list.” Richie jokes, but his sad smile says otherwise.</p><p>“Is there any way of ff-finding out w-wh-who did this to yy-you?” Bill adds, watching as Richie’s hands quiver on the table.</p><p>Richie shakes his head. “It’s done with now.” He says, sounding hopeless.</p><p>The trio sit in silence for awhile, but their moment of solitude is soon ruined when Richie’s older friends pass by.</p><p>“You look like shit, Rich.” One of them laughs, closing in on the table of misfits.</p><p>“I’m flattered.” Richie responds, his tone almost robotic. He doesn’t take his gaze off of his hands in front of him.</p><p>Another boy who stands behind Richie puts his hands on Richie’s shoulders with some force. Richie hisses in a breath, which both Bill and Eddie notice.</p><p>“H-Hey, be careful with him.” Bill speaks up.</p><p>“Oh, that’s right,” he says dense, not taking his hands away. “You got your ass kicked in an alley, didn’t you?”</p><p>Richie stays silent, not because he’s scared of the group, but because he knows what they are like; they take things too far, and he doesn’t think Bill or Eddie will be able to handle their forward, abrasive behaviour.</p><p>But it’s something that Richie is used to, because he has become the standing joke of sorts, he is the source of their amusement. He knows that is not a good thing, but attention is attention, and he’ll take what he can get.</p><p>“Yeah, well…” Richie says after some silence. “It was going to happen sooner or later.” Richie eases up when one of his friends takes his hands away from his aching shoulders. “I must have really pissed someone off.”</p><p>Eddie looks over to the two boys, he’s sure there are usually three of them; they all look the same, wearing sleeveless shirts even in the coldest of weather and each have short haircuts. Richie sticks out like a sore thumb, he is slim, yet tall, he wears denim jackets on most occasions and his midnight mop of curls make him appear gentle, approachable, which is exactly what he is, unlike his unpleasant friends.</p><p>Eddie must have let his gaze linger too long, because one of them snaps their cold eyes on him, so he quickly averts his gaze.</p><p>“You tutor this girly boy?” He smirks, looking over to Eddie but his words aimed at Richie. “No wonder you got the living shit beat out of you.” He leans forward, whispering the last few words into Richie’s ear, only for him to hear. “Maybe someone mistook you for a faggot.”</p><p>The words send shivers down his spine, but he doesn’t cause a scene for a number of reasons 1) they’re in a library 2) he doesn’t want to involve Bill and Eddie 3) he’s already badly injured, and he’s not sure if he can take another punch 4) he’s <em>not </em>gay.</p><p>“Okay,” Richie responds. “Are you done now?” Richie says in annoyance, peering his head over his shoulder at the two boy’s standing behind him.</p><p>One of the boy’s looks at Richie inquisitively before saying. “Let us know when you’re free to hang, you know, when you’re not busy being a loser.”</p><p>Richie doesn’t respond, so as they walk away, one of them smacks Richie upside the head. Richie reacts by rubbing the side of his head, although the unnecessary smack didn’t hurt him.</p><p>“Maybe you should be looking closer to home.” Eddie murmurs, glaring at the group as they exit the library to go smoke weed, or do whatever else it is they do instead of studying.</p><p>Eddie’s sentence doesn’t need to be elaborated, the trio know full well what it means, continuing on from their conversation as to who could have hurt Richie.</p><p>And as Richie and Eddie turn their attention to their tutoring session, Bill notices one thing before Richie’s friends are out of the door completely.</p><p>He notices the heavy boots they wear on their feet.</p>
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<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Chapter 5</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>A few weeks pass and Richie has pretty much recovered psychically, but he isn’t too good at dealing with the trauma that has affected him emotionally. He tends to run away when things get hard, so he protects himself by putting the beat down behind him. Out of mind, out of sight.</p><p>Bill had told Eddie about his suspicions, briefly mentioning the boots he noticed Richie’s friends wearing. But that small detail isn’t enough proof, and besides, it’s not like Richie would listen, he guards himself heavily because he doesn’t want to think about it.</p><p>Ignorance is bliss to him.</p><p>With Eddie’s math test now a week away, Richie figured they needed to ramp up their tutoring sessions leading up to the test.</p><p>So now, the two of them sit in Eddie’s bedroom, they have been studying relentlessly and in turn completely lost track of time.</p><p>Eddie takes his eyes off of his paper and over to his watch.</p><p>
  <strong>09:16PM</strong>
</p><p>The luminous red numbers light up in the dimly lit room, catching Richie’s tired eyes.</p><p>“Shit, where did the time go?” Richie says out loud, standing up from the desk facing Eddie’s window and taking a look outside.</p><p>The streets are empty and dark, the only source of light coming from a single streetlight about half a block down the street. Richie’s stomach flips at the sight, because it reminds him of the night he got attacked, and Eddie seems to notice.</p><p>“Would you rather stay here, Richie?” Eddie asks, closing his notebook shut and looking up at the beautiful boy who faces the moon, illuminating the side of his face with silver flecks of light.</p><p>“What about your mom?” Richie asks uncertain. “I don’t want to be an inconvenience or anything...”</p><p>“You’re not an inconvenience,” Eddie assures, standing up himself. “Bill sleeps over all the time when we study,” Eddie explains. “So I don’t see how you staying over will make any difference.”</p><p>Eddie’s mom can be quite overbearing, and Eddie thinks if the roles were reversed, and he was the one staying at Richie’s, she wouldn’t allow it. But Eddie is at home, which is all his mother ever wants, so he’s sure his mom won’t question Richie staying over for the night.</p><p>Eddie walks over to his drawers, finding a pair of sweatpants so Richie doesn’t have to sleep in his jeans. “I think these are Bill’s,” Eddie pulls out the grey pair of sweatpants. “But you’re both pretty tall so I’m sure they’ll fit.” He explains, offering them for Richie to take.</p><p>Richie takes them from Eddie, gratefully smiling at the small boy that makes his heart swell bigger than the moon that briefly makes an appearance through Eddie’s curtains.</p><p>“There’s another bathroom just down the hall,” Eddie explains, closing his drawers and looking over to Richie who stands close to the desk, his eyes scanning all of the pill bottles lined up on Eddie’s desk. “There’s a spare toothbrush in the bottom draw under the sink.”</p><p>Richie usually has so much to say, but he feels incapable of forming a sentence. It’s not because he feels uncomfortable around Eddie, no, he’s the most comforting person Richie has had the pleasure of being around.</p><p>It’s because he has been hit by the sudden realisation that he <em>likes</em> Eddie, <em>a lot.</em></p><p>He sees the way Eddie paints a picture with his moonlit eyes, how his polo shirts linger with fragrant lavenders, and the sound of Eddie’s laughter warms Richie’s soul and melts the icy cavern between his ribcage.</p><p><em>Shit… maybe I am gay.</em> Richie thinks to himself.</p><p>But instead of doing anything about his feelings, he lets them brew like storms in his head as he goes into the bathroom to change and brush his teeth.</p><p>When Richie leaves, Eddie grabs extra blankets from his closet and makes a bed for Richie on the floor before going ahead with his own night routine in the bathroom downstairs.</p><p>It’s not long after that they say their goodnights and turn the lights off, as they’re both trying to fall asleep, Eddie makes conversation with the taller boy that leaves him in a constant state of awe.</p><p>“Rich, are you awake?” Eddie voice floats through his quiet bedroom as he looks up at his ceiling.</p><p>“Yeah, I’m awake,” Richie breathes out, pulling the Star Wars blanket closer to his body. “Are you okay?” Richie asks, always making sure the small boy he tutors and has fell for <em>too</em> fast is not hurting in any way.</p><p>“Yeah,” Eddie hums softly. Some silence passes, and it is obvious Eddie has something on his mind. “Can I ask you something?”</p><p>“Go ahead.” Richie urges, turning over slightly to look at Eddie, although it’s too dark to see him, much to Richie’s displeasure.</p><p>“If I have a nightmare,” Eddie continues, sadness breaking through his voice. “Please can you wake me up?”</p><p>His words break Richie’s heart into small pieces, shattering like glass falling onto the ground. “Of course,” Richie assures. “You won’t have to go through<em> that</em> alone, not while I’m here.”</p><p>“Thank you.” Eddie says gently, sleep threatening to overtake his body. But he’s not afraid to fall asleep, because he trusts Richie; if he wakes up shaky and in a sweat, Richie will be there, and if he is unable to escape the nightmare that leaves him in perpetual fear, Richie will be right there.</p><p>Eddie usually doesn’t like talking about his nightmares when he wakes up, or the few days after that, but he thinks he should tell Richie about his nightmares, about <em>everything</em>. Eddie knows he'll listen.</p><p>“You can fall asleep,” Richie says, picking up on the tiredness that lingers in Eddie’s voice. “I’m right behind you.”</p><p>“Okay,” Eddie mumbles into his pillow, his eyes getting heavier with each passing second. “Goodnight, Richie.”</p><p>Eddie finally lets his eyelids flutter closed.</p><p>“Night, Eds.” He vaguely hears Richie speak out, his voice sweet and comforting.</p><p>And he drifts off to sleep.</p>
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<a name="section0006"><h2>6. Chapter 6</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>since this story is pretty much in eddie’s pov i wrote the chapter like this but i think it turned out okay (this is also why richie’s friends are nameless, because it’s eddie’s prospective and he doesn’t know who they are).</p><p>i hope you enjoy this short chapter!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Eddie wakes up, gasping for air and clutching his bed sheets through his fingertips<strong>. </strong>He can feel sweat dripping down his forehead and on the back of his neck, making his chestnut hair stick to his damp forehead.</p><p>“Eds?”</p><p>The sound of Richie’s voice brings him to his senses.</p><p><em>It was a nightmare, just a nightmare.</em> He repeats to himself as his heart slams against his ribcage.</p><p>Eddie’s mattress dips slightly when Richie moves beside him, he slips his arms around Eddie, and the small boy stiffens at first. But Eddie can feel his muscles relax when Richie pulls him closer, holding him in a comforting embrace.</p><p>"It's okay," Richie soothes, his fingers squeezing Eddie's shoulder. "It's okay, Eddie. Y<em>ou're okay</em>."</p><p>Richie had heard Eddie’s whimpers as he was on the edge of sleep, his eyes landed on Eddie tossing and turning in the midst of a nightmare. So Richie sat up abruptly, leaning over the small boy and gently shaking him awake, calling out Eddie’s name in a low whisper.</p><p>It’s then Eddie woke up in a cold sweat. Even in the dark Richie could see the tears that began to build up and threaten to spill like raindrops.</p><p>And now as Richie holds him close, Eddie can’t seem to form any clear thoughts, because he can't get past the fact that Richie is <em>here</em>, with him.</p><p>And<em> he’s okay.</em></p><p>Eddie presses his palms to his eyes, forcing back his tears that he doesn’t want Richie to see, but it’s not hard to see that the small boy is visibly upset, so Richie holds him even closer.</p><p>Eddie’s mind wanders back to his nightmare, and he knows it’s <em>not real</em>, but it <em>was </em>real at one point in time; in his nightmare Richie got hurt, again. But this time, Eddie was there, and he couldn’t do anything to stop it.</p><p>Eddie quickly wipes away a few tears that escape upon thinking about the boy he cares about so much getting hurt, even in his twisted dreams.</p><p>“I’m sorry,” Eddie’s voice breaks as he lets himself lean into Richie’s embrace, his head tucked underneath Richie’s chin as tears run down his flushed cheeks.</p><p>"Sorry for what?" Richie says, his chin brushing against the top of Eddie’s hair.</p><p>“<em>I’m sorry</em> I couldn’t help you.” Eddie squeezes his eyes shut but the tears don’t stop falling, he nuzzles his face into Richie’s shirt, the tears that streak his face absorbing into the soft fabric.</p><p>“No, Eddie,” Richie shakes his head, briefly tickling Eddie’s ear with his chin. “<em>Don’t </em>do this to yourself.” Richie says gently, brushing some of the hair that sticks with sweat away from Eddie’s forehead.</p><p>Eddie’s entire body quivers, trying to control his breathing as the warmth from Richie’s body seeps into his skin and slowly puts him at ease.</p><p>Richie doesn't say much else as Eddie cries, which Eddie appreciates. The thing that Richie does differently from others is that he doesn't try to ask him what's wrong, or make him talk about his nightmare, or tell him to stop crying. He just holds him in his arms and lets him cry, not once moving or indicating that he has the intention of letting him go.</p><p>That’s a gesture within itself, because Richie Tozier would hold Eddie Kaspbrak in his arms for eternity if that were possible.</p><p>A long time passes before Eddie wears himself out from crying, and as Richie runs his fingertips through Eddie’s soft hair, Eddie thinks if he just closes his eyes, he might be able to fall back to sleep, free from nightmares.</p><p>Eddie listens to Richie’s heartbeat softly thumping in his ear, and it reminds him that he’s<em> here, </em>in the present.</p><p>Richie’s breathing is steady, his chest rising and falling in a gentle rhythm as Eddie drifts off to sleep again. When Eddie’s mind begins to wander towards the fear of his nightmares, he focuses on Richie, his warmth, his touch.</p><p>And it’s the first time Eddie is able to fall to sleep after a nightmare without having to look up at the stars.</p>
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<a name="section0007"><h2>7. Chapter 7</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>it's my birthday tomorrow so i have created this long chapter, it's an early birthday present for you. it does start slow, but i hope you persist and read the whole thing!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The curtains in Eddie’s bedroom blow around with the morning breeze, letting the light make patterns across the ceiling. </p><p>Eddie can hear Richie’s soft breathing over the quiet hum of the birds that sing their morning songs, and he can smell the faint aroma of his apple shampoo as the taller boy sleeps so peacefully, sleep comes easy for Richie.</p><p>Eddie shifts a bit in his bed, but it’s difficult when he can feel a warm pair of arms pull him closer.</p><p>Eddie remembers <em>everything</em> from last night, each detail floods through his head in waves. Richie has not once let go of Eddie, and he doesn’t have to, because Eddie is the first to slip away from Richie’s grasp.</p><p>When Eddie stands up, leaving Richie with empty arms, it’s then the dark haired boy wakes up. Richie rolls over slowly, trying to gather his bearings for a moment. He recognises the Star Wars blanket on the floor, and he soon realises he is in Eddie’s bedroom, not only that, he’s in Eddie’s <em>bed.</em></p><p>Richie squeezes his eyes shut, blocking out the yellow sunlight that pours into the bedroom through Eddie’s curtains. Once his eyes adjust to the light and it no longer brings him discomfort, Richie looks over at Eddie sliding his closet door open and pushing hangers aside, searching for fresh clothes to wear and picking out an oversized pale blue t shirt and yellow and blue block shorts.</p><p>Eddie can feel Richie’s restless copper eyes burning holes in the back of his head, so he glances over his shoulder, looking at Richie’s messy hair and crooked glasses that sit on his face.</p><p>“What’s the rush to get ready?” Richie asks, his words barely coherent because he’s just woken up. “It’s a Saturday.” He adds, adjusting his glasses upright on his face.</p><p>Richie decides to tread carefully after last night, not knowing if Eddie will want to open up and talk about his nightmare, so he doesn’t bring it up.</p><p>He also doesn’t bring up how they practically cuddled in his bed all night.</p><p>“I don’t wanna lounge around in my pyjamas all day,” Eddie admits, taking his outfit off of their hangers. “Do you?”</p><p>Richie untangles himself out of Eddie’s sheets, he stands up, looking down at himself wearing yesterday’s t shirt and Bill’s sweatpants. “What? You’re telling me people change out of their pyjamas on weekends?” Richie responds.</p><p>“Yes,” Eddie says, his innocent face slightly grossed out by Richie’s confession. “You’re just disgusting and can’t be bothered to change your clothes.” Eddie adds, closing his closet.</p><p>“Okay then,” Richie bites back, but there’s no bitterness laced in his tone. “Where are my jeans?”</p><p>“On the chair by my desk,” Eddie points at Richie’s jeans as he stands with his own clothes in his hands, waiting on Richie who is moving much slower than he is.</p><p>Richie lunges forward, grabbing his jeans from the chair before moving his hands towards the waistband of his sweatpants that were Bill’s but now he is claiming them as his own.</p><p>“Don’t change here!” Eddie exclaims, but he quickly falls quiet when he remembers his mother is just downstairs.</p><p>Richie looks up at Eddie, his hair sticking up in all sorts of angles. “Where else am I going to change?” Richie continues. “The backyard?!” He says with sarcasm.</p><p>Richie proceeds to pull his sweatpants down, and Eddie averts his gaze, focusing his wide eyes on the messy blankets that lay on the ground.</p><p>Richie finishes hopping into his jeans. “You can look now.” Richie alerts Eddie, knowing he won’t look himself to check if Richie is decent.</p><p>Eddie looks back up at Richie, a light shade of red washes over his cheeks like a heated sunset. “I’m getting changed in the bathroom.” Eddie tells him, walking over to his door.</p><p>“Wait,” Richie stops the flustered boy in his tracks. “What if your mom comes in while you’re not here?”</p><p>“You are clingy, Richie,” Eddie huffs, a small smile creeps on his face. “Do you know that?” Eddie says rhetorically. “You can wait outside the bathroom door.”</p><p>Richie follows after Eddie when he sees he is already walking out of the room, so he waits outside the bathroom, leaning his back against the door.</p><p>After a few minutes, Richie can feel the door being pulled open, but he is a few seconds too late. He falls backwards into the bathroom, his back hitting the cold tiles and his head brushing against Eddie’s feet.</p><p>“Ah fuck!” Richie exclaims as he crashes into the room.</p><p>Eddie looks down at him, unimpressed at the amount of noise he is making, and all Richie does is look up at him with a clumsy smile plastered on his face.</p><p>Eddie sighs. “Can you make any more noise?!” He says with sarcasm, helping the taller boy up.</p><p>Once Richie is back up on his feet, Eddie moves to the sink, grabbing his toothbrush and the spare one Richie used last night, handing it over to him.</p><p>“What? Don’t you brush your teeth on the weekends either?” Eddie extends the toothbrush towards Richie further, urging him to take it.</p><p>“Of course I do.” Richie responds, walking over to the sink and grabbing the toothbrush from him.</p><p>The pair brush their teeth in silence as they stare up at the mirror in front of them, and Eddie can’t help but glance at Richie through their reflection. And Richie notices, of course he does, because he’s doing the exact same thing, looking at the small boy in wonderful admiration.</p><p>Richie spits out the mouthful of toothpaste, a curious smile forms on his face. “How about we do something today?” Richie suggests. “Just the two of us.”</p><p>Eddie rinses his toothbrush, looking over to Richie. “Like what?” Eddie asks.</p><p>Richie shrugs as they walk out of the bathroom, heading back into Eddie’s room so Richie can collect his things.</p><p>“Bowling, the arcade, the Aladdin Theatre…” Rich trails off. “Can you think of anything else to do in this shitty town?”</p><p>Eddie shakes his head, watching Richie slip on his jacket, patting down his pockets and making sure he doesn’t forget anything at Eddie’s house, like his house keys to get back in, and his cigarettes.</p><p>Eddie is a little taken back that Richie wants to spend the day with him after last night, he thought Richie would be quick to leave, not wanting to stay longer than necessary. But it’s the complete opposite, Richie<em> wants</em> to stay, and he wants to spend time with Eddie in a way that isn’t studying.</p><p>“How about bowling?” Eddie displays a smile that lights up his daffodil cheeks, the happiness he feels seeping right through his bones. “That sounds fun.”</p><p>That smile is the prettiest thing Richie has seen in a while, it makes an unexpected warmth run right through him.</p><p>“Okay,” Richie nods. “Bowling it is.”</p><p>The two head downstairs, and just before they head out the door, Eddie’s mother stops him.</p><p>“Eddie bear, where are you off to in such a rush?” Eddie’s mother asks, sitting in her recliner chair as she paints her nails in the living room which has clear view of the front door.</p><p>Eddie pauses, keeping his hand on the door handle. “Just the public library,” Eddie lies. “To study.” He adds, knowing if his mother knows the truth she won’t let him go.</p><p>“Okay,” Sonia replies, looking over to Richie who stands behind Eddie in silence, the strong fumes of the nail polish filling his nostrils. “Just make sure you’re back before dinner.”</p><p>“Yes ma.” Eddie replies, opening the front door wider, but his mother stops him once more.</p><p>“Aren’t you forgetting something?” His mom asks, and Eddie knows exactly what she’s insinuating.</p><p>Eddie heavily sighs, the pill bottles in his fannypack rattle as he walks over to his mother, planting a kiss on her cheek.</p><p>Richie stifles in a laugh as Eddie slowly walks back over with a look of both embarrassment and annoyance on his face.</p><p>“Do you want one from me too Mrs K?” Richie blurts out.</p><p>And Eddie hastily pushes Richie out the door before he can say anything else.</p><p>“Sorry mommy.” Eddie quickly apologises before slamming his front door shut, letting out a sigh of relief when he steps outside.</p><p>“You’re lucky my mom was too busy watching Wheel of Fortune to notice your big mouth,” Eddie says, catching up to Richie on the sidewalk. “She would ha-“</p><p>“What would she have done?” Richie says daringly, the two matching a steady pace as they walk to the bowling alley. “Stop me from tutoring you?” Richie smirks.</p><p>“You’re not tutoring me now though,” Eddie states. “We’re going bowling.”</p><p>“Only because we’ve studied everyday for the past week,” Richie defends, their arms brushing against one another as they walk. “I think we deserve a day off, don’t you think?”</p><p>“Yeah, I guess you’re right…” Eddie agrees, looking over to Richie who seems to freeze up when they pass a vacant alley. The same alley Richie had gone through after walking Eddie home, and he didn’t get out so safely last time.</p><p>Eddie notices the way Richie’s cool demeanour completely crumbles, the fear he feels is apparent in the way his beautiful features fall. </p><p>“You’re safe with <em>me</em>, Rich,” Eddie softly grabs onto the sleeve of Richie’s denim jacket, earning his attention. “But we don’t have to walk down there, not if you don’t want to.”</p><p>“And what would you do?” Richie scoffs, his exterior hardening. “Stab them with a protractor?!” Richie jokes, using his humour to mask his fear, but the quiver in his voice proves otherwise.</p><p>“I’d do more than that,” Eddie tugs at Richie’s sleeve, carefully guiding him through the alley. “I’d make sure they wouldn't be able to walk again.”</p><p>“Of course you would,” Richie smiles. Eddie manages to divert Richie’s attention until they are all the way out of the alley. “You’re<em> brave</em>, braver than you know.” Richie adds, softening up when he looks down at Eddie’s small hand holding onto his sleeve, and he still holds on, even as they continue to walk on the sidewalk.</p><p>“You really mean that?” Eddie asks, feeling anything but brave when he thinks about his nightmares, and the fannypack he wears around his waist is a constant reminder that he is weak. “My mom doesn’t seem to think so…” Eddie trails off, slipping his grasp from Richie’s sleeve.</p><p>Richie immediately stops him from feeling inferior.</p><p>“Fuck your mom!” Richie exclaims. “If you could see yourself through my eyes, you would never doubt yourself,” Richie admits with honestly, no jokes, no impressions. “You wouldn’t have the audacity to say ‘I can’t’, because you can<em>.” </em>Richie continues.<em> “You</em> can do anything, Eds.”</p><p>Richie can see the very essence of beauty that makes little Eddie Kaspbrak so brave. He is delicate, pretty, yet holds a fire inside of him that burns so brightly. He sees the grace in every little thing the small boy does, the way he thinks, the things he does, and the words he says.</p><p>Richie is blinded by the beauty that radiates from within Eddie, ever since he started tutoring him a month and a half ago.</p><p>“Thanks Rich.” Eddie says, smiling sweetly as they near the entrance to the bowling alley, he looks up at the taller boy and he can see Richie’s eyes are as sincere as the sun.</p><p>After their deep conversation, sounding like beautiful music, they enter the bowling alley and pick out a lane at the very end, away from everyone.</p><p>Richie pulls back his arm holding the heavy ball, stepping forward and throwing the ball, it crashes into the leading pins and knocks each one down in one go.</p><p>“Fuck yeah!” Richie says with excitement when he gets a strike, he walks back over to Eddie in his bowling shoes, almost slipping on the waxed floor in the process.</p><p>And then Eddie thinks for a clumsy boy, he is pretty good at bowling, amazing actually.</p><p>“Your turn!” Richie raises his voice over the clashing of bowling balls being dropped in the aisles surrounding them, pins tumbling and spinning.</p><p>Richie picks up his soda, sipping through the red and white stripe straw as Eddie looks up at their score and grimaces; it’s safe to say Eddie is terrible at bowling, the only time he’s ever been here was for Bill’s 10<sup>th</sup> birthday, and that was so many years ago Eddie can barely remember it, much like how he can’t remember how to knock the pins over without his ball falling off centre and into the gutter.</p><p>Eddie picks up the lightest bowling ball he can find before walking up to the marked line. He’s about to swing the ball, but hesitates, his slippery shoes stepping forward, then he stops, stepping back again and looking over at Richie sitting on the plastic seats behind him.</p><p>“You need me to teach you how to bowl too?” Richie smirks, walking over to Eddie and standing close, his chest pressed against his back.</p><p>Richie moves his arms around the small boy. “You need to steady your hand,” he whispers, and Eddie can practically feel Richie’s smug smirk on the back of his ear. “Like this.” Richie says, brushing his fingertips over Eddie’s butterscotch hand holding the bowling ball.</p><p>“Now what?” Eddie swallows nervously, waiting on Richie’s instructions.</p><p>“Now bend your knees slightly and keep your arm straight,” Richie steers Eddie’s wrist, moving forward with him as he guides Eddie’s arm. “And throw.”</p><p>Eddie concentrates on the pins, letting go of the ball and holding back a breath as he watches it head down the aisle and wipe out all the pins in one clean motion.</p><p>Eddie turns around to face Richie, adrenaline rushing over his body when he sees he’s got his first strike.</p><p>“I told you you can do anything!” Richie smiles widely as the two of them stand in such close proximity, their faces inches away.</p><p>Richie’s eyes flicker down to Eddie’s peach lips, then back up to his big brown eyes. Richie slowly looms closer, and Eddie feels nervous as Richie leans in. He suddenly realises he has no idea what to do, his heart stutters in confusion, as if it can’t decide between stopping and racing.</p><p>And then he feels Richie’s lips press lightly to his cheek, so Eddie closes his eyes, focusing on the soft petal feeling of Richie’s pink carnation lips on his cheek, grazing the corner of his mouth.</p><p>Eddie then does something that takes them both by surprise, he moves his head up and kisses Richie deeply, their lips move in sync, soft and slightly wet as an electric-like feeling rushes through both of them, something more powerful than the adrenaline rush from getting a strike.</p><p>The two <em>boys</em> don’t even care if somebody happens to see their first kiss, that’s the<em> last </em>thing on their minds; Eddie’s thoughts fall silent and still like the water in the quarry, the kiss revealing true feelings they were too afraid to admit.</p><p>And it’s then that Eddie realises Richie gives him confidence to try new things; like telling white lies to his mom, getting his first strike, and finding the courage to kiss the very boy who makes him believe he is brave, <em>not </em>weak.</p><p>It’s Richie that relights that fire within him.</p>
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<a name="section0008"><h2>8. Chapter 8</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>this kinda sexual so i’m just telling ya.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Richie reads over Eddie’s math test, his glasses slipping down his nose slightly as he marks Eddie’s work for him.</p><p>“You’re over thinking it.” Richie says as he’s in deep thought, tapping his red marker pen on his lips.</p><p>Eddie watches him twirl the pen around his plump lips, his eyes focusing on Richie’s mouth holding the pen. It’s distracting to say the least, maybe that’s why he’s found it so hard to concentrate during their tutoring session today.</p><p>“You use the Pythagoras Theorem for number ten,” Richie tells the distracted boy, his long legs shift under the table, spreading them ever so slightly so his touch grazes over Eddie’s bare thigh, sending pleasant warmth through his body. “So C is…” Richie trails off, looking over to Eddie who doesn’t seem to be listening at all.</p><p>Richie pushes his glasses up, his gaze flickers over Eddie’s confused yet zoned out features. Eddie looks up at Richie with his big eyes, trying to ignore his heart fluttering in his chest every time Richie softly explains equations he doesn’t understand.</p><p>Richie takes the pen away from his mouth and places it on the table. “Come on, Eds,” Richie sighs. “What can I do to earn your attention, hm?”</p><p>Richie’s hand runs smoothly up Eddie’s thigh as he leans in, his lips brushing against the small boys ear so softly. Eddie can’t help but arch into it, seeking more of his touch. </p><p>“Would it help if I kissed you?” Richie murmurs directly into his ear, and Eddie can feel his teasing grin on his ear.</p><p>Eddie nods before closing his eyes, unable to ignore Richie’s hand skimming his thigh, moving higher and higher up.</p><p>Richie leans in the rest of the way, his lips brush over Eddie’s as though he wants to make sure he’s ready, their lips press together and the kiss is slow and precise, soft lips and careful tongue.</p><p>Richie breaks the kiss for a moment. “Or what if I touched you here?” Richie whispers, his hand briefly brushing over Eddie’s crotch. “Would that get your attention?” He smirks as his lips meet with Eddie’s again, catching a soft moan in Eddie’s throat.</p><p>“Rich…” Eddie pulls away slightly, left feeling breathless and a little on edge in fear Richie’s parents will walk into the kitchen and catch them kissing. “What about your parents?” Eddie asks, although Richie doesn’t seem to be fazed at all.</p><p>“Don’t worry,” Richie reassures, tracing his nose along the line of Eddie’s jaw, pressing a lingering kiss under his ear. “When do they ever check up on us?” Richie asks without needing an answer because they both know they won’t be interrupted.</p><p>Richie’s lips ghost down to Eddie’s neck, sucking on a particular spot until a small mark blooms. Eddie winces a little when Richie uses his teeth slightly, so Richie hums against his sensitive skin and presses little kisses up and down his neck instead. </p><p>Richie trails his kisses back up until his face is centimetres away from the small boy who outshines all the stars.</p><p>“You’re so beautiful,” Richie says, his eyes admiring the freckles dusted over Eddie’s nose and the high points of his cheeks, resembling a constellation.</p><p>Eddie blinks, putting all of his care and love into his gaze, his eyes fixating on Richie’s honey smile.</p><p>Eddie presses a kiss to Richie’s cheek, moving his hands up to his prominent cheekbones and caressing his face so delicately with his thumbs. “It’s the math equations I have a hard time focusing on, not you.” He confesses. “You’ve<em> always</em> had my attention, Richie.”</p><p>Richie smiles wider, laughing slightly at how pure Eddie is, he sends him such a heavenly feeling each and every time he speaks, each time Eddie looks up at him with admiration painted on his angelic features.</p><p>“Maybe you can stay a little longer,” Richie suggests. “Now you’re less distracted I’m sure I can teach you more before your math exam tomorrow.”</p>
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<a name="section0009"><h2>9. Chapter 9</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Eddie looks up at the slight sunset in the sky, the golden rays disappear and soon the moon will rise along with the stars, Eddie can already see one or two stars so faintly in the calm sky.</p><p>He takes his eyes away from the watercolour painting above him, focusing on the streets ahead. As he’s walking home, he thinks about his math exam; he struggled on a few questions, but he was capable of answering them in the end. He doesn’t find equations so difficult anymore, not since Richie became his tutor, because Eddie will<em> always</em> listen to Richie, bad jokes and all.</p><p>Eddie turns the corner, his eyes meeting the brightly lit diner on the corner of the street; it’s a small all-night diner, and most night’s hungover seniors sit in the back of the otherwise empty diner.</p><p>So when Eddie hears the bell above the door chime, signalling someone has left, he’s shocked to see Richie and his three friends exiting the diner.</p><p>Eddie slows down his pace, cautiously watching the group a few feet away. Richie's back is facing him, so he hasn't noticed Eddie yet, and Eddie thinks it's best it stays that way, he doesn’t like Richie’s friends at all, and he knows they will only give him a hard time if they catch sight of him.</p><p>But turns out, it's already too late.</p><p>“Yooo Rich, it’s your study buddy!” One of them shouts obnoxiously.</p><p>The hot stabbing feeling of panic surfaces over Eddie’s skin like a thousand tiny knifes, he averts his gaze, but even then he can still feel all eyes are on him.</p><p>Richie follows his friends line of sight, and his face drops when he sees Eddie. Not because he isn’t happy to see him, but because he doesn’t want him to get hassled. So he rather Eddie be anywhere but here, right in front of his friends as he stands so tense on the sidewalk.</p><p>“What’s his name again?” The sandy haired boy in the group squeezes the nape of Richie’s neck, making the fleece collar on his denim jacket stick up slightly.</p><p>“Does it matter?!” Richie snaps, shrugging the hand off of his lanky frame.</p><p>“Girly boy!” One of them whistles, the group snickering except for Richie who is just as tense as Eddie, if not more. “You wanna smoke with us?”</p><p>Eddie shakes his head as the group move in closer, seeing this, Richie tries to divert their attention.</p><p>“Didn’t you say your dad’s out of town?!” Richie says to one of them, trying to step in front of the group, walking backwards in the process. “House to ourselves, am I right boys?!” Richie raises his hand in the air for a high five, only to get pushed to the side.</p><p>“Who knew you were tutoring such a <em>fag</em>?!” The most dominant friend spits, his cold eyes on Eddie. “I thought losers were supposed to be smart.”</p><p>The smell of weed fills Eddie’s nostrils, and he is positive Richie has been smoking it too, but he’s not surprised because Richie always does dumb shit when he’s with those assholes, they're a bad influence on him.</p><p>“Piss off,” Eddie spits back, already growing tired of the same old insults. “The sooner Richie gets rid of you all the better.”</p><p>“The fuck you say?!” The same boy snarls, advancing on Eddie.</p><p>“Hey, leave him alone.” Richie pleads, stepping forward to intervene and preventing the intimidating boy from grabbing Eddie’s arm.</p><p>The boy looks over at Richie. “What do you care?” He raises an eyebrow. “Is he doing you <em>favours</em>? It must be something in return for tutoring, huh?”</p><p>Richie swallows nervously, not denying or admitting anything. Eddie notices this, and he hates how quickly Richie can turn off his feelings, because that’s what it seems like he’s doing.</p><p>Maybe Richie has always been ashamed of him, he’s just his dirty little secret who he turns to when nobody else is around.</p><p>That’s all he ever will be.</p><p>“Fuck you Richie.” Eddie says unexpectedly, his tone laced with disappointment.</p><p>“The fuck did I do?!” Richie raises his voice, confused at Eddie’s sudden outburst. And in response his friends laugh at Eddie turning on Richie, finding the small boys change in temper amusing.</p><p>“You scared they’ll find out, Rich?” Eddie says coldly, no longer able to contain the anger he feels. “What if they knew that we kis-“</p><p>Before Eddie can finish his sentence, Richie grabs Eddie by the elbow, dragging him away from the group. “Shh!” Richie hushes, darting his eyes to the group then back at Eddie.</p><p>“What?!” Eddie snaps. “You don’t want them knowing that we kissed?!” Eddie yells in a whisper. “<em>More </em>than once.” He adds. “Do you always act as though people you like, that you kiss, don’t exist outside of whatever benefits you?”</p><p>Eddie yanks his arm free, watching Richie’s friends head to their car. He assumes Richie will go after them, but he doesn’t.</p><p>“No-“ Richie shakes his head, following after Eddie when the small boy begins to walk away. “You’ve got it all wrong,” he adds, grabbing Eddie by the arm again to get him to slow down. “I like you Eds, I-“</p><p>“I told you not to call me that!" Eddie shouts in frustration."<em>Eddie!</em> Not Eds - what don’t you get?!” Eddie stands still. “Let go off me already.” He says, tugging his arm in attempt to free it from Richie’s grasp.</p><p>Richie loosens his grip a little. “<em>Eddie</em>,” he pleads softly. “I’m trying. They’re my frien-“</p><p>“Friends?” Eddie scoffs, finishing Richie’s sentence for him. “Well they sure have a funny way of showing it…”</p><p>Silence follows, and it’s then Eddie realises what he has just said, he snaps his eyes apprehensively over to Richie.</p><p>“What are you saying, Eddie?” Richie firmly asks, holding onto Eddie’s arm, looking at the boy and waiting on an answer as the abyss of his deep eyes crumble, his world collapsing around him.  </p><p>“They’re the ones who beat the shit out of you, Richie.” Eddie looks up at him helplessly, almost forgetting how angry he is at the taller boy… that is until he tries to defend them once more.</p><p>Richie clenches his jaw, shaking his head in disbelief. “They wouldn’t do that, they-“</p><p>“I’m sure they wouldn’t think twice about admitting the truth because they don’t care about you Richie!” Eddie tells him. “They never have…” He trails off.</p><p>“You’re talking shit,” Richie spits, letting his grip from Eddie’s arm fall. “They’re all I had before you, or anybody else came along!” Richie protests. “They buy me cigarettes and shit, and they let me crash at their place when I argue with my parents.” Richie adds, not seeing that those things don’t make a friend.</p><p>“Come on, Richie! What’s it going to take for you to see sense?!” Eddie says, his frustration grows, failing to stay calm. “Who else could it possibly be? You said they were wearing heavy boots… who else do you know who wears-“</p><p>“Fuck…” Richie is quick to cut Eddie's explanation short, his face twisting up at the revelation. He doesn’t want to hear anymore, but Eddie doesn’t hold back.</p><p>“You were just too blind to see it because you’re so fucking starved for <em>attention</em> that you don’t care who or where you get it from!” Eddie yells, his tone harsher than intended and he doesn’t realise until he sees Richie recoil in on himself.</p><p>Richie resembles a kicked puppy, he flinches at Eddie’s hurtful words, holding back unfamiliar emotions that threaten to leak through the small cracks of his heart.</p><p>“Rich,” Eddie’s voice trembles slightly, seeing Richie deteriorate in every way. “I didn’t mean it.” He frowns, extending his arm out to brush his fingers along the taller boys arm, but Richie backs away.</p><p>Richie can’t even bring himself to look at the boy he loves so much, because it’s the truth, he is starved for attention. </p><p>But that was<em> before, </em>before he met Eddie.</p><p>Richie would crave attention anywhere he could get it, but now, all Richie ever wants is to be acknowledged by Eddie, and <em>only</em> him.</p><p>Richie swallows thickly, daring to look at Eddie. And they both know it’s a different type of pain that Richie is experiencing; it’s not psychical injuries from a beat down, or betrayal from friends he never really knew, it’s so intense that Richie can’t even hide behind a joke, when usually humour comes so effortlessly as a coping mechanism for him.</p><p>Richie walks away from Eddie without another word, because running away is what he’s best at, and Eddie doesn’t stop him.</p><p>It’s all an unsettling blur because everything Richie thought made <em>sense,</em> now doesn’t. He pushes everything so far down so he has no choice but to forget about it, including his strong feelings for Eddie.</p><p>And there’s no amount of stars in the sky that can comfort Eddie and assure him that everything will be okay.</p>
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<a name="section0010"><h2>10. Chapter 10</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>this chapter starts very angsty but it doesn't end like that. i promise this is the last chapter with angst... the fluff is coming soon.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Eddie bikes home from school, pedalling through the small town so deep in thought that his front tire coasts slightly to the right, almost crashing into a nearby mailbox.</p><p>The argument he and Richie had yesterday happened so unexpectedly; foul words escaping too quick for their own good, leaving them with broken hearts.</p><p>Eddie noticed Richie’s absence early on in the day when he wasn’t in math, the only class the two share together. He though Richie must be avoiding him, but he was proved wrong by Stan who hadn’t seen him either, and he shares practically every class with Richie.</p><p>As Eddie cycles home, the sound of the gravel beneath his tires is all he can hear, along with the nagging thought urging him to turn right on Witcham Street, along the road which leads to Richie’s house.</p><p>So he does.</p><p>Eddie knows he and Richie are not on the best of terms, but Eddie’s not mad, not anymore. But even if he were, he still would have turned right. The dark haired boy never leaves his mind, and he doesn’t care if Richie slams the door in his face, he just wants to see him, and check he is okay.</p><p>Eddie sees Richie’s house in the near distance, skidding to a stop before propping his bike up aside the front porch. He can’t see any cars parked in the driveway, so that means Richie’s parents must still be at work.</p><p>Eddie walks up the two steps leading to Richie’s front door and sees the door is slightly ajar. He pushes it open slightly, calling Richie’s name through the narrow opening, hoping Richie won’t ignore him completely.</p><p>And there’s no response, but the door being unlocked seems strange, so Eddie decides to invite himself in, though it makes him feel a little uneasy.</p><p>Eddie cautiously walks through the house, and it’s then he sees Richie leaning against the kitchen island, one arm holding himself up, the other hand clutches a nearly empty bottle of vodka. And it breaks Eddie’s heart, seeing Richie has turned to alcohol to keep his problems at bay, just like his mother does.</p><p>Richie has always been somewhat blind in his peripheral vision, so he doesn’t see Eddie enter the kitchen.</p><p>“Richie?” Eddie calls, sadness clear in his tone as he walks closer, attempting to gain Richie’s attention, and this time he succeeds.</p><p>Richie is clumsy, even more so when he’s drunk. So Eddie’s unexpected presence does startle him, the bottle slips from his grasp, followed by the sound of glass shattering onto the ground.</p><p>Richie finally looks at Eddie, vulnerability written on his face. He looks down at the glass shards on the floor. “Shit...” Richie curses. “I thought you were my mom,” he admits, looking back up at Eddie. “She’d kick my ass if she knew I raided her alcohol cabinet.” Richie adds, his tone slightly slurred.</p><p>Richie squats down to pick up the glass off of the floor with his bare hands, his vision blurred and his movement slow from the alcohol, so Eddie can already tell this is a disaster waiting to happen.</p><p>“What are you doing?” Eddie frowns, going around the kitchen island so he can stop Richie before he hurts himself.</p><p>“What does it look like I’m doing?!” Richie scrunches his face up, as though he finds Eddie stupid for asking such an obvious question. “I’m picking up the glass on the floor.”</p><p>Eddie crouches down next to him, moving Richie’s hands away. “You’ll hurt yourself Richie,” Eddie tells him, his concerned eyes scanning over Richie’s face flushed from the alcohol. “Come on, let’s stand up.” Eddie softly demands. As they stand to their feet, Eddie wraps a supporting arm around Richie’s waist, Richie leans into him, stumbling slightly, so Eddie tightens his grip to prevent the sullen boy from stepping on the broken glass.</p><p>“Why are you helping me, <em>Eds</em>?” Richie’s brows knit together, pain stricken on his features that resemble a renaissance painting. “Oh sorry, <em>Eddie</em>.” Richie says rather obnoxiously.</p><p>Richie wants to deny Eddie’s help, but he’s incapable of even standing up on his own, so he swallows his pride and lets Eddie help him. <em>Beautiful, selfless Eddie.</em></p><p>“I can’t go home and leave you like this.” Eddie responds, taking Richie’s arm and wrapping it around his shoulder, he holds onto Richie’s wrist, his lanky arm lazily brushing over the nape of Eddie’s neck.</p><p>“I thought you- you hated me,” Richie stammers like Bill as Eddie heads over to the stairs with Richie propped up against him, and then Eddie realises it’s going to be more of a struggle getting Richie up to his bedroom than he thought.</p><p>Richie’s no stranger to drinking, he would get wasted with his group of delinquent friends, they introduced him to all these bad habits, and they are ultimately the reason Richie drank himself into oblivion.</p><p>Of course Richie chose to drink just like his mother, no one forced him. He just wanted to fix yesterdays pain, to feel numb. But <em>numbness</em> is probably worse than <em>pain</em>, because Richie knows the heartache will soon come back.</p><p>But Eddie stops that heartache, the mellifluous sound of his voice, his loving words puts Richie’s heart at ease.  </p><p>“I could <em>never</em> hate you Richie,” Eddie adjusts Richie’s arm that begins to slide off of his small shoulder as they’re halfway up the blue carpeted stairs, he grips onto the taller boys waist tighter. “You know that.”</p><p>The side of Richie’s face presses onto Eddie’s shoulder, basking in the scent of lavenders and honey cough drops. “I feel like Stan hates me,” Richie admits, his fuzzy thoughts run over every bad interaction he has had with the people he cares about. “He looks at me like I’m fucking retarded or something…”</p><p>“Stan looks at <em>everybody </em>like that.” Eddie breathes out. Richie’s weight begins to take a toll on Eddie as they reach the top of the staircase, he almost trips, taking Richie with him, but the small boy somehow manages to get his balance back.</p><p>Eddie spots a sign on one of the doors which says ‘keep out!’ in bold letters, so it doesn’t take a genius to figure out this room is Richie’s.</p><p>But before Eddie fully enters Richie’s bedroom, he can feel Richie’s shoulders droop, he looks over to the dark haired boy, his face pale, apart from his flushed cheeks. Eddie stops for a moment, placing a delicate hand to Richie’s hot forehead, instantly feeling the heat emanating from his body.</p><p>“I don’t feel so well, Eds,” Richie confesses, although it’s very clear from his appearance, the alcohol he’s consumed beginning to take effect.</p><p>“It’s alright,” Eddie soothes, helping Richie get to his bed. Richie presses his head against his cool pillow as Eddie goes to draw the curtains shut, the room now cast in shadow. “You just need to sleep it off.”</p><p>He walks back over to Richie, kneeling down in front of him in the dimly lit room, and Eddie can just make out Richie’s bed sheet covers that have Transformers on them. He’s sure Richie would have justified them in some way, but he’s too tired. And Eddie finds it ironic how a boy like granite, who swears in every sentence, can have such a soft side, it’s clear from his cotton soft heart he only lets <em>one </em>boy sees, and that boy is Eddie Kaspbrak.</p><p>“You’ll be okay, Richie.” Eddie assures, his eyes soft. His small hand finds Richie’s fingertips, giving them a squeeze. “I’ll let myself out.”</p><p>Richie squeezes his fingertips back, and he doesn’t let go, not wanting the chestnut haired boy to leave him.</p><p>“Can’t you stay?” Richie mumbles into his pillow. “Just a little longer.”</p><p>Eddie looks down at their entwined fingers, then he sees Richie move closer to the wall, making room for Eddie to fit into his single bed. So Eddie lays down beside him, he can feel Richie is still warm, and Eddie doesn’t want to leave him until he’s sure he’s over the worst, even though he does look far more comfortable now that he’s in bed.</p><p>Richie wraps his arms around Eddie’s waist, his chest pressed against the small boys back as his light breaths fan the back of Eddie’s neck. “It hurts when I’m with you.” Richie mutters, not making much sense.</p><p>“What? In a bad way?” Eddie asks softly, pulling the covers up to his chin, hoping he doesn’t cause Richie any pain, that’s the last thing he wants.</p><p>“No,” Richie shakes his head, and Eddie can feel his nose graze the back of his head. “In a good way,” Richie tries to explain, running his fingers through Eddie’s fluffy hair to soothe himself more than anything, because Eddie’s entire being seems to be the only thing that can comfort Richie. “In my heart.” Richie adds, his eyes tired, threatening to close.</p><p>“Thank you… for staying with me.” Richie presses a tender kiss on the back of Eddie’s ear, and the heartfelt gratitude in his words tug at Eddie’s heart.</p><p>“I’ll <em>always</em> be here for you, Rich.” Eddie responds.</p><p>As Richie drifts off to sleep, Eddie thinks back to their first conversation about the stars, the way Richie had explained them.</p><p>“<em>Some drift away, and some stay…</em> <em>But they’re still there, even if you can’t see them.”</em></p><p>And just like the stars, Eddie knows he will always be there for Richie.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0011"><h2>11. Chapter 11</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Eddie let’s Richie sleep awhile longer as the sun begins to rise. He gracefully slips from Richie’s grasp, and unlike the previous time in Eddie’s bedroom when they shared a bed, Richie doesn’t notice the loss of Eddie’s body in his arms, since he’s hungover.</p><p>Eddie heads into the kitchen, everything is still left how it was. He finds a dustpan and brush under the kitchen sink where all the cleaning supplies are stored, sweeping up the tiny glass shards before Richie’s parents see and add the <span class="u">literal</span> broken pieces together.</p><p>Eddie sees the way Richie is much like his parents; he has his mother’s sensitivity, and longing of the feeling of love. Along with he his father’s strong will, to become more educated with every new experience.</p><p>Eddie has been around Maggie and Went long enough to know they have raised him well, it is clear they<em> love</em> him. So Eddie finds it sad that Richie can’t turn to them when he’s on a downward spiral, and that’s because Richie doesn’t want to disappoint his parents.</p><p>But his parents could <em>never</em> be disappointed, not at all. They just don’t understand why he does the things he does. They don't understand <em>him</em>.</p><p>Not in the way Eddie does.  </p><p>Eddie finds his way back to Richie’s bedroom, he sees Richie is still asleep, his face buried in his pillow. So Eddie steps forward and crouches beside Richie’s sleeping form, he reaches up a hand and gently strokes it down Richie’s back before sliding it back up and rubbing circles into the space between his shoulder blades in attempt to wake him up gently.</p><p>A soft groan slips past Richie’s lip, his brows furrow as he turns over, throwing up a hand to shield his eyes from the glaring light through his window that makes his head throb harder.</p><p>“Wake up Rich,” Eddie says softly. “You can’t stay in bed all day.” He adds as Richie begins to stir.</p><p>Richie groans louder, letting it drag out to show his annoyance. Eddie stands up, leaning over and running a soothing hand through Richie’s untamed hair. Eddie’s touch is relaxing enough to put Richie back to sleep, but he listens to the small boy, swinging his legs over the side of the bed.</p><p>“I feel fooking shite,” Richie says in one of his voices, running his hands through the bed sheets for his lost glasses that slipped from his face through the night, he feels the thick frames, sliding them over his tried eyes before looking at Eddie.</p><p>“What was that?” Eddie scrunches his nose up in confusion. “Scottish?”</p><p>Richie stands up, embracing Eddie in a hug as he blinks unhappily against the morning light. “It’s whatever you want it to be.” Richie responds.</p><p>They slip into <em>comfortable</em> silence, and that’s something Richie has never known before. He is talkative, and he finds noise a positive thing.</p><p>But when it comes to Eddie, his big brown eyes and innocent smile, Richie can't help but think that silence <em>can </em>be worthwhile.</p><p>“I’m going to the bathroom,” Richie announces, breaking the silence. Though he doesn’t pull away from the hug, he can’t.</p><p>So Eddie is the first to pull away.</p><p>Richie’s gaze flickers over Eddie’s angelic features, he reaches up and caresses his thumbs against Eddie’s soft face, still craving some sort of psychical contact as the small boy looks up at him with bouquets of stars in his eyes.</p><p>Eddie places one hand over Richie’s that so gently traces over his face, he wishes they could stay like this forever, because when Eddie first met Richie, when he became his tutor. He didn’t know Richie would soon become his whole world.</p><p>“Go on then,” Eddie softly smiles, dropping his hand to his side as Richie lets go of his face. “You smell worse than the gym socks Bill left in his locker through winter break.”</p><p>Richie doesn’t respond, only sticking his middle finger up behind his back as he heads out the door and to the bathroom.</p><p>Eddie patiently waits for Richie, flicking through all the comics he has stacked up near his messy desk cluttered with old report cards and cassettes ranging in different music genres. After more time passes waiting in the same spot, Eddie decides to go searching for Richie instead of feeling confined in his bedroom.</p><p>And Eddie says Richie is the clingy one…</p><p>Eddie descends down the stairs, his eyes briefly scanning over a few pictures of Richie as a toddler hung up along the walls, and it makes his heart swell at the sight.</p><p>He passes by the sliding glass door that leads out to the backyard without really paying attention, until he catches Richie sat outside on one of the lawn chairs, holding a lit cigarette between his fingers.</p><p>Eddie goes outside, catching Richie’s attention as he blows out a puff of smoke he directs behind his shoulder, away from Eddie.</p><p>“You’re smoking?” Eddie asks, sitting down on the free lawn chair next to Richie, the plastic a little damp from the morning dew.</p><p>Richie looks down at his cigarette, the orange embers floating away with the light breeze. “No,” he responds, guilt evident on his face as he looks over to Eddie. “I’ve never smoked a cigarette in my life.” He adds, his tone dripping with sarcasm.</p><p>“Yeah, of course you haven’t,” Eddie says with just as much sarcasm, admiring the gleaming tulips enamoured in summer.</p><p>“I thought it would help with the hangover,” Richie takes in another drag, his cheeks hallowing as he does so. “It helps me think too.” Richie responds as the early sun shines down on them in hues of oranges and pinks.</p><p>“What are you thinking about?” Eddie asks, fanning some of the smoke away that drifts in his direction, holding back a cough.</p><p>Richie ashes out almost half of the cigarette he has left on the patio slabs, not wanting to trigger Eddie’s asthma. “How much I put you through last night.” He admits honestly, much to Eddie’s surprise.</p><p>“I’m sorry,” Richie says after some silence. “I fucked up so bad.” He winces, the sun gleams off of his glasses as he looks over to Eddie with a heavy heart.</p><p>“It's okay to show your feelings, even if you don’t know how,” Eddie continues. “We all lose people one time or another, and it <em>hurts</em>.” Eddie looks over to Richie listening to every word as the flowers bloom around them. “As long as you don’t lose <em>your </em>way, concentrate on the people that are still here, that love you,” Eddie continues. “Then that’s all you can do.”</p><p>The loss of bad friends, the pent up feelings of betrayal for people that never cared about him, who never had his best interest all becomes less of a blur.</p><p>Richie’s<em> not</em> the things he has done, he is <em>more</em> than that.</p><p>And all it took was for him to look closely, to get a clear view.</p><p>It’s <em>Eddie</em> that makes him see sense.</p>
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<a name="section0012"><h2>12. Chapter 12</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>A month has passed since Richie’s realisation, and he’s only had <em>one</em> altercation with his old friends.</p><p>He confronted the group, hoping to get the truth out from them. And as always, Eddie was <em>right.</em></p><p>They admitted the truth with not even a glimpse of remorse, all to do with the fact they didn’t like how Richie had become his own, making his own decisions; like tutoring a pretty boy which lead him to see the world <em>can</em> be a beautiful place, full of positive influences and newfound hope.</p><p>So Richie made sure to listen to the very boy who sounds like an angel choir, concentrating on the people who are here, who love him.</p><p>After all this, Richie soon came to the conclusion that friendship is built on <em>love</em>; friends are people who won’t let you suffer alone, <em>friends</em> are people who really do care, <em>friends</em> are there when you’re sad. </p><p>Friends are <em>family.</em></p><p>Eddie, Bill and Stanley have made that clear in a matter of short months.</p><p>“Move your legs asshole,” Stanley snaps Richie from his thoughts, kicking Richie’s right shin with the tip of his shoe as they sit at the back of the school bus.</p><p>“Ask nicely.” Richie teases, stretching his long legs further in front of Stan sat opposite to him.</p><p>“No!” Stan’s voice breaks, his patience hanging from a loose thread.</p><p>Bill rolls his eyes, taking his gaze away from the colourful beach huts that pass buy in a blur out of the window.</p><p>Today’s the junior field trip to the seaside, and the drive from Derry to the nearest stretch of seaside isn’t as fun as Eddie expected; Stan and Richie have been snapping at each other none stop, and a beach ball being thrown around the bus has hit Bill’s head one too many times, Eddie is sure if he doesn’t get off of this bus soon he is going to lose his mind.</p><p>“I’m not sitting opposite you on the ride home,” Stan says matter of factly, giving Richie’s leg another kick. “Eddie trade seats with me.”</p><p>“No way,” Eddie pipes up, looking over to Richie sat beside him. Eddie likes sitting next to Richie, he doesn’t want to move. “If you trade seats with me then you’ll have to sit next to Richie.”</p><p>Richie looks at the group conversing as if he’s not there. “I can hear you fuckers.” Richie says, rubbing his shin when Stan prods him with his shoe once more.</p><p>“Yeah, you’re right,” Stan pauses. “Bill trade seats with me.” Stan asks the final member of the group, talking over Richie.</p><p>“I’ll trade seats with you on the way buh-back Stan.” Bill agrees, not caring about trivial things like leg space.</p><p>“I’ll just go sit in the luggage compartment or some shit.” Richie speaks again, feeling dejected as the bus comes to a stop outside a little diner on the sea front.</p><p>“I like sitting next to you Rich,” Eddie says as he stands up from his seat, throwing his backpack straps over his shoulders. “That’s why I didn’t want to move.”</p><p>“Am I<em> that</em> irresistible?” Richie responds, no longer feeling dejected when he responds with his usual remarks, standing beside Eddie as everyone floods from their seats and out of the bus.  </p><p>“Yeah, if you say so,” Eddie chuckles, giving the bus driver an appreciative smile as he leaves the bus, stepping into the parking lot and gravitating towards Bill and Stan along with Richie.</p><p>The crowd of students begin to venture off in their own groups to explore, so Stan, Bill, Rich and Eddie stay put for awhile, taking in their new surroundings.</p><p>“What’s there to do? There’s fuck all here.” Richie states, adjusting his glasses.</p><p>“This is a beachside town,” Stan points outs as the group begin to walk along the sandy sidewalk, passing the diner that plays radio songs. “So... there’s the beach.”</p><p>“Gee, Stan,” Richie says, sarcasm clear in his tone. “I didn’t know that. Thank you for pointing that out.”</p><p>Eddie drowns out their bickering as they step foot on the beach, the ocean wind is calm, the sea rushes up and down on the sand, clumps of seaweed washing up with the tide.</p><p>“There’s plenty to do, R-Rich,” Bill says on a positive note, holding onto Eddie’s arm when he sees the smaller boy lose his balance on the uneven sand. “Why don’t y-you go to the diner with Stan and bring some food b-back.” Bill suggests.</p><p>Richie and Stan look at each other, then back at Bill, and they already know it’s not a<em> choice</em>, Bill is<em> telling</em> them.</p><p>“Fine,” Stan sighs, walking back up the sandy slope, dragging Richie along with him before the dark haired boy can protest to stay with Eddie, since they’re practically inseparable.</p><p>Eddie watches the pair walk off as Bill puts down a beach blanket for them to rest on.</p><p>“You think they’ll bond?” Eddie asks as he sits down next to Bill, squinting through the sun as he looks over to the blue eyed boy, noticing the bright streak of auburn Bill has in the front of his hair.</p><p>Bill shrugs, bringing his knees up to his chest as he admires the frothing waves. “Not if they k-kill each other ff-first.”</p><p>“Bill,” Eddie trails off, picking up some sand and letting the grains run through his fingertips. “Do you like Richie?” Eddie asks.</p><p>“Do I like R-Richie?” Bill repeats, and Eddie nods.</p><p>“Yeah, I- I like Richie,” Bill continues. “He’s loud a-and he doesn’t know when to shut up, but h-he’s harmless.”</p><p>Bill takes his eyes away from the sea, looking over to Eddie. “What muh-makes you ask?” Bill says, nudging Eddie’s shoulder in a friendly manner.</p><p>Bill is Eddie’s dearest friend, he is someone who won't let you shed a tear, with Bill, Eddie can be who he is without any fear.</p><p>So Eddie decides to tell him of the secret love he shares with Richie.</p><p>“I<em> like</em> Richie,” Eddie admits briefly.</p><p>Bill knows well enough that Eddie is fond of the foul mouthed boy, he’s <em>always</em> known. Eddie looks at Richie like he looks at the stars in the sky, full of wonder and beauty.</p><p>“H-How much do y-you like him?” Bill responds with a smile, his dimples making an appearance.</p><p>“I like him so much it hurts… in a good way.” Eddie adds, remembering what Richie had said the night he was drunk, when they cuddled in his Transformer bed sheets, and his incoherent words have stuck with Eddie ever since.</p><p>“Has he tried to kiss you y-yet?” Bill asks, his hair blows in the wind, lapping over his forehead.  </p><p>“We’ve kissed a few times,” Eddie says. “I kissed him first, and it felt like the <em>right </em>thing to do.” Eddie admits. “He’s gentle when he’s on his own, but he won’t ever admit that.” Eddie smiles, thinking of the soft side to Richie others don’t get to see.</p><p>“R-Richie won’t admit <em>a lot</em> of things,” Bill says, his words hold some meaning, but he becomes distracted when he hears Richie and Stan's loud voices from afar.</p><p>“What do you mean?” Eddie asks, gaining Bill’s attention back.</p><p>“He nn-never told you?” Bill replies, his tone holding some surprise. “He confronted h-his old friends, told them to ll-leave you alone from now on, or he’d go to the pp-police about the assault.”</p><p>“How do you know that?” Eddie asks as he processes what Bill has told him. It only makes his admiration for Richie stronger when he thinks about Richie standing up for him.</p><p>Richie’s not ashamed of him after all…</p><p>“Me and Rich were wuh-walking to Chemistry to-together,” Bill explains. “They were giving him a h-hard time down the halls.” Bill adds. “He ww-was like “go blow your dad you mm-mullet wearing asshole!” when they l-left.” Bill laughs, remembering Richie’s unique choice of words.</p><p>Bill and Eddie watch Stan and Richie in the near distance as they walk along the beach with fries in their hands, too busy looking at the seagulls perched on the wall.</p><p>“You’re a good influence on him,” Bill admits. “He fuh-finally put those assholes in their p-place.”</p><p>Before Eddie can respond, he notices a seagull chasing Stanley, so Richie aggressively throws the fries at the bird as the two make a break for it.</p><p>Bill and Eddie can’t contain their laughter as Stan and Richie head in their direction.</p><p>“Oh shit!” Stan breathes out, crashing down on the blanket beside Bill.  </p><p>“Holy fuck!” Richie pants, his hands reach down to his knees as he looks back over to the seagulls fighting over the fries.</p><p>“That’s your fault!” Stan directs at Richie, brushing off some of the sand on his shorts.</p><p>“I saved your ass out there!” Richie says in defence.</p><p>Stan shakes his head, handing his fries over to Bill with a sweet smile.</p><p>“Fuck your fries.” Richie says as he watches Bill and Stan eat the remaining fries. “Come on Eddie, we’ll go get ice cream instead.” Richie offers, coming up behind Eddie before sliding his arms around him, squeezing him close and giving him a short kiss behind his ear.</p><p>Bill and Stan don’t seem to notice, Stan’s too busy pointing up at the sky, showing Bill the different types of birds in the seaside town.</p><p>Richie pulls Eddie to his feet, but before Eddie goes off with Richie, he puts a hand on Bill’s shoulder. “I’m going to get ice cream, do you want anything?” Eddie asks, being the selfless person that he is.</p><p>“N-No thanks,” Bill shakes his head. “Have fun.” He smiles, letting Eddie walk off with Richie in search for the ice cream truck.</p><p>Richie and Eddie soon find the ice cream truck, they both get vanilla ice cream cones, except Eddie chooses to get rainbow sprinkles on his.</p><p>Richie can’t help but stare at Eddie licking his ice cream cone, so he hasn’t noticed the ice cream that has started to drip down his hand.</p><p>“Rich…” Eddie says, gaining Richie’s attention as the small boy simply looks down at the ice cream melting down Richie’s forearm, then back up at him.</p><p>“Shit,” Richie curses before licking his own ice cream cone, trying to stop the rest of the ice cream trickling down the wafer cone.</p><p>Eddie chuckles lightly when he notices the ice cream above Richie’s lip, so Eddie reaches out and brushes his thumb so gently over Richie’s lip.</p><p>Eddie lets his thumb hover over Richie’s lips, and Richie’s gaze drops down to Eddie’s own soft lips.</p><p>Richie comes closer, and as he leans in, Eddie’s eyes fall shut.</p><p>The kiss is sweet, sensual, Richie can feel Eddie’s long eyelashes flutter on his cheek. And when they pull away, Richie just wants to lean in and kiss him all over again.</p><p>Eddie’s gaze flickers over Richie’s eyes that hold galaxies in them. “You know you stare at me a lot, right?” Eddie smiles up at him.</p><p>Richie blinks. He’s been busted, but it’s not like he ever tries to hide it. “Yeah, I do.” Richie admits as he leans in once more, their noses brush and their lips align.</p><p>Richie Tozier will always choose to stare at Eddie Kaspbrak, rather than the night sky that holds an infinite amount of mesmerising stars.</p>
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<a name="section0013"><h2>13. Chapter 13</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>i was watching stand by me (again) and it made me wanna write another chapter, so i literally just finished writing this. this is my favourite chapter i've ever created i think... i really hope you enjoy it &lt;3</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Eddie, Bill, Richie and Stan make it back to Derry a little past 5 o’clock, but the four of them don’t go their separate ways.</p><p>A few days before the trip, Bill suggested they all sleepover at his house since the next day would be a Saturday. Of course Eddie had to ask his mother first, but it didn’t take much convincing for them all to agree.</p><p>The group walk to Bill’s house in content silence, Richie has two backpacks on his back, one of them being Eddie’s he insisted carrying.</p><p>It’s the small things Eddie notices, the way Richie laughs at his own jokes, how he adjusts his glasses when he’s nervous, and how he smiles at Eddie as if he is all the stars that light up the dark sky.</p><p>Eddie hopes the beautiful boy can see how much he is really worth.</p><p>“Wait,” Stan calls out as he stops in his tracks, so everyone else stops walking too, looking over to him. “I still have sand in my shoes.” Stan says as he attempts to take one shoe off of his foot without standing on the hot gravel.</p><p>Bill comes to the rescue, letting Stan use him as a human railing as he shakes the sand from the insoles of his plimsolls.</p><p>Richie watches as the grains pour out like a sand timer. “You didn’t have to bring the whole beach home with you, Stan.” Richie says, adjusting a hand through his dark hair.</p><p>Stan just ignores him, so Richie looks over to Eddie; the sun hits the small boys skin ever so softly, he can see how his brown eyes reflect shades of caramel in the sun, and it makes Richie’s heart spin like nothing else.</p><p>Eddie looks at Richie out of the corner of his eyes, so Richie makes conversation with his lover. “This was you’re first time out of Derry, wasn’t it?”</p><p>Eddie nods, squinting up at Richie as the late summer sun casts down on them, but the heat isn’t suffocating. “It was nice actually,” Eddie admits, not having high hopes for the trip at first. “But you know what’s even better?”</p><p>“Tickling your pickle for the first time?” Richie says, hoping to hear his laugh that sounds like music, but it’s the opposite to that.</p><p>Eddie heavily sighs. “I was going to say something heartfelt there,” Eddie starts to walk again when he sees Stan and Bill continue on ahead of them.</p><p>“You can still say it,” Richie follows after him. “Go ahead.” Richie adds, wanting to hear what Eddie had to say, and this time he doesn’t plan on saying a dumb joke.</p><p>“I was going to say... it’s even better that I got to spend my first time out of Derry with <em>you</em>.” Eddie confesses.</p><p>“Shit, Eds,” Richie breathes out, his heart melting like his ice cream earlier on in the day. “That’s sweet.”</p><p>“Yeah well,” Eddie trails off. “It would have been sweeter if you didn’t ruin it.”</p><p>“Is a moment ever ruined if there are more moments to come?” Richie says, a little stupidly.</p><p>Stan overhears this, looking behind his shoulder at the dark haired boy. “Where you dropped on your head as a baby or something?” Stan asks as they near Bill’s front porch.</p><p>“I don’t know, maybe.” Richie says with a light shrug, smirking when he sees Stan roll his eyes and turn his head back around.</p><p>The group all stand behind the undisputed leader as he digs out his keys from his denim shorts, Bill unlocks the door, holding it open for his three friends to enter first.</p><p>Eddie is used to being in Bill’s home, Richie on the other hand, has never stepped foot in the Denbrough residence. From what Richie can see, the house is a home, it’s inviting. He doesn’t feel uncomfortable, but maybe that’s because the host of the sleepover is someone who makes you feel anything but uncomfortable.</p><p>Bill Denbrough radiates warmth, he’s kind, strong. He’s a <em>true</em> leader.</p><p>They all descend down the basement stairs, Richie looks around, and it’s like the basement is always prepared, ready for guests at any given moment.</p><p>“It’s like a bachelors pad in here.” Richie says with big eyes as he takes the bags off of his back, he wanders over to the VHS tapes, running his finger along all the movies situated near the TV.</p><p>Bill comes up behind him, so Richie turns his head when he feels Bill’s presence, then looks back over to all the tapes.</p><p>“Have yy-you seen Stand By Me?” Bill asks Richie, his eyes searching for the VHS in question.</p><p>“No,” Richie shakes his head, watching as Bill picks up the VHS with the blue cover, pulling it out from its box. “What’s it about?” Richie asks.</p><p>“We can w-watch it,” Bill states, so he doesn’t reveal the plot to Richie. Bill walks over to the TV, he turns it on and fuzzy static appears over the screen until he places the tape into the VHS player. “Stan cried at the e-ending-“</p><p>“Bill!” Stan shouts in embarrassment. “We discussed that we were never going to tell anyone about that.”</p><p>“Right, ss-s-sorry Stan.” Bill says with a closed smile.</p><p>The boy’s begin to settle down for the night, changing into fresh clothes before the movie starts.</p><p>Richie walks back into the basement after changing into a clean shirt and Bill’s grey sweatpants he stole from Eddie. He sees Eddie put his sleeping bag on the floor, so before anybody can put their sleeping bag in the empty space next to him, Richie is quick to claim that spot as his own, throwing down a blanket and one of Bill’s pillows on the floor.</p><p>“Just say you want to sleep next to Eddie, Richie.” Stan notices Richie’s quick actions as the orderly boy pulls out a toothbrush from his duffle bag.</p><p>“I-“ Richie stammers, looking over to Eddie who only laughs, shaking his head at the taller boy. “Go deep throat your toothbrush.” Richie whips back at Stanley.</p><p>“Wow,” Stan says monotone. “Very original.” He adds, heading to the bathroom.</p><p>Before Richie situates himself in the blankets, Bill looks Richie up and down as he presses play on the TV. “Are those m-mine?” Bill asks, pointing at the sweatpants Richie wears.</p><p>“No,” Richie looks down at them, then back up at Bill. “I don’t think so.” Richie trails off as he lays down, covering himself with the blankets.</p><p>Bill’s not sure what to think.</p><p>Halfway through the movie, during the scene where Gordie, Chris, Teddy and Vern outrun the train, Richie notices Eddie has fallen asleep.</p><p>So Richie continues to watch the movie, he almost succumbs to sleep near the ending, until he hears a whimper escape Eddie’s lips.</p><p>Richie sits up from his laying position, looking over to Eddie, the TV glows on his distressed features as the main menu sound effects play in the background over and over again.</p><p>He’s having a nightmare.</p><p>“Eds,” Richie leans into Eddie’s ear. “Eddie.” He whispers.</p><p>Richie brushes his fingers over Eddie’s arm gently, but his stomach coils with concern when he sees Eddie in the depth of his nightmare.</p><p>“No, no!” Eddie cries, writhing in his sleeping bag as his lungs become more constricted.</p><p>Without thinking, Richie pulls Eddie into his lap, wrapping his arms around Eddie. “Shh,” Richie soothes, gripping the small boy tighter as he thrashes around. “I’ve got you, Eds.”</p><p>Eddie’s whimpers wake Bill up, he looks over to Eddie in a slight panic; Bill’s usually the one who takes control of tough situations, he always knows what to do. He is the leader after all.</p><p>But this time, he’s not sure what to do, other than watch Richie take action in soothing his distressed friend in ways he never could do.</p><p>“No, please!” Eddie cries out again, clenching his fists onto Richie’s shirt.</p><p>“Shh, it’s okay.” Eddie murmurs into Eddie’s hair, breathing in the scent of his strawberry shampoo.  </p><p>After some time, Eddie stops thrashing, much to Richie’s relief.  So now Richie tries to coax him back into a peaceful slumber.</p><p>Stanley hastily stands up from his sleeping bag, still half asleep as he grabs his torch, holding up the blunt object to defend himself with it if necessary. “What’s going on?!”</p><p>“E-Eddie’s having a nightmare.” Bill says.</p><p>Stan visibly becomes less tense, but he holds a sympathetic frown on his face, letting his arm with the torch drop to his side.</p><p>Bill can only just see Richie’s features in the dim lit room, he looks scared almost, even though the worst of it is over.</p><p>“R-Rich, are you okay?” Bill asks, his heart pangs with worry.</p><p> “I’m okay, Bill.” Richie breathes out, brushing his fingers through Eddie’s hair as he quivers in his arms.</p><p>“Do you need muh-me to stay awake?” Bill asks.</p><p>Bill would stay up all night, comforting <em>both </em>boys if Richie wanted him to, if he just asked. In the past, Richie would have done anything to be comforted, to be shown attention when he needed it most.</p><p>But for once in Richie’s life, he feels as though he can handle this on his own.</p><p>“No, it’s alright,” Richie says in a low whisper, holding Eddie a little closer. “He’ll go back to sleep soon.”</p><p>Bill turns off the TV that had been left on as they each drifted off to sleep during different parts of the movie, and Stan feels safe enough to climb back into his sleeping bag as the whole room seems to be more at ease.</p><p>Richie pulls his blanket over Eddie as he starts to recover from his shaky breaths, and as Richie continues to stroke his hair, his whimpers are almost inaudible.</p><p>It’s then Richie feels Eddie’s body relax, and he’s pretty sure the small boy has fallen back to sleep, hopefully in a sweet dream.</p>
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<a name="section0014"><h2>14. Chapter 14</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Eddie feels butterfly kisses on his neck as he begins to wake, familiar warm hands hold him close, and it’s then he registers he is in Richie’s arms.</p><p>“Richie?” Eddie says, still tired and confused. He can’t remember falling asleep in Richie’s arms, so he pulls away from the taller boy slightly.</p><p>Richie’s stomach sinks when he realises Eddie can’t remember his nightmare, although that seems like a good thing in hindsight, Richie feels as though Eddie needs to know.</p><p>“You had a nightmare last night, Eds.” Richie says with a slight frown.</p><p>Eddie’s face falls, he leans back into Richie, resting is head on Richie’s chest. “No…” Eddie shakes his head, feeling distraught.</p><p>He thought he was done with all the nightmares, they somehow find a way to creep back up on him every now and then.</p><p>But they are less frequent ever since he met Richie.</p><p>Richie places his hand on Eddie’s bare knee, hugging him close again.</p><p>“Did I wake everyone up?” Eddie asks, always concerned for his friends.</p><p>“No,” Richie lies, not wanting Eddie to feel worse than he already does. “Everyone was still awake, watching the movie.”</p><p>“I’m sorry Rich,” Eddie’s voice falters as he tries so hard to hold back tears.</p><p>“Hey,” Richie says. “Don’t cry.” He murmurs into Eddie’s shoulder. “You can’t help it.”</p><p>And as Richie soothes him, Eddie knows the dark haired boy is one of a kind, his soul touched by a thousand stars. Richie is capable of putting him at ease, he doesn’t make his panic worse, he only makes it <em>better.</em></p><p>“Morning e-everyone,” Bill greets as he arrives back from the bathroom, his sunshine smile surfaces and warms up the entire room as he buttons up his red flannel shirt.</p><p>Eddie stands to his feet, leaving the warmth of Richie’s body. “Morning Bill,” Eddie says briefly, grabbing his toiletries and heading to the bathroom.</p><p>Bill watches Eddie leave, then he looks at Richie still sat on the floor.</p><p>“He’s upset about his nightmare,” Richie clarifies, standing to his feet. “So none of you make him feel bad about it,” Richie asks of them, looking over to Stan in particular. “Especially you.”</p><p>“I don’t particularly like being woken up to screams that made me think a masked intruder broke into Bill’s basement with a knife,” Stan says, neatly packing his pyjamas back into his duffle bag. “But I won’t say anything,” Stan adds. “<em>For Eddie</em>.”</p><p>Stan sends Richie a sincere smile, and it’s then Richie thinks he would die for these group of losers, he would.</p><p>They have shown him what <em>sincere </em>friendship is, they’re understanding, affectionate, and they listen.</p><p>Now Richie thinks he understands what love songs are about, why people write them full of metaphors and create melodies with violins.</p><p>He understands what<em> love</em> is supposed to feel like. </p><p>“How about we all go to the q-quarry?” Bill suggests. “Your bikes are s-still in the ga-garage,” Bill adds, the boys had left them in there the day before the trip. “Wh-We could ride there.”</p><p>Richie’s down for the idea, but Stan glances at Bill apprehensively. “Won’t the water be cold?”</p><p>“It’s ss-summer,” Bill states, rolling up his sleeves to his elbows. “The water is nice this t-time of yy-year.”</p><p>Stan nods, the idea still seems unpleasant to him, but he decides to worry about it when the time comes, when they’re actually at the quarry.</p><p>“I’ll go let Eddie know,” Richie discloses as Stan begins to put on his shoes and Bill folds away the few blankets he provided for the others last night.</p><p>Richie heads up the creaky basement stairs, remembering which hall the bathroom is located and turning right.</p><p>“Eds?” Richie calls before knocking on the bathroom door. “You in there?” He adds, hoping it’s not any one of Bill’s parents in there, because that would be awkward.</p><p>The door unlocks and swings open, and Richie is relieved to see Eddie on the other side, running a brush through his chestnut streaked hair, some of his fluffy hair drooping over his forehead slightly.</p><p>Eddie opens the door wider, letting Richie enter through the narrow opening before shutting the door again.</p><p>Eddie appears fresh, although he’s always clean and put together, but he looks as though he is willing for the new day to have a fresh start, putting his nightmare behind him as much as possible.</p><p>“Why have you locked me in here with you?” Richie asks in the small bathroom, watching as Eddie puts a few of his pill bottles back into his fannypack.</p><p>“You left your clothes in here,” Eddie states, pointing to Richie’s clothes folded near the towels.</p><p>“Oh,” Richie responds, not really sure why he’s disappointed. He grabs his clothes, looking over to Eddie once more.</p><p>“You can change in here,” Eddie says, seeing Richie just stood there, doing nothing other than looking at him, watching the pretty boy do his morning rituals.</p><p>Richie thinks back to the first time he stayed the night at Eddie’s house, when he slept on the floor and helped him through his nightmare. The following morning, Eddie was so tense when Richie changed in front of him, and now, they have become so comfortable with one another.</p><p>There’s just something about Richie that allows Eddie to tell him everything, he can openly admit his fears, not hide them.</p><p>It’s a beautiful feeling, being <em>in</em> love, being with someone you can be yourself around.</p><p>As Richie pulls his t shirt over his head, he remembers why he came searching for Eddie in the first place. “Bill wants to take us to the quarry,” Richie tells him, taking off his sweatpants and putting on a pair of shorts. “But I get it if you don’t want to go…”</p><p>“No, I love going to the quarry,” Eddie responds, his eyes trailing over Richie’s body, and noticing the few odd freckles across his bare shoulders.</p><p>“You do?” Richie raises his eyebrows in surprise. “I thought because it’s full of piss and shit that you’d hate going in the water.”</p><p>Richie finishes pulling his shirt over his head, his dark curls now more tousled than before.</p><p>“It did bother me at first… but not so much anymore.” Eddie explains. “I realised it’s better to <em>swim </em>than to <em>sink</em>,” he adds. “Making memories that last a lifetime is more important than a bit of dirty water,” He admits with a light smile. “And besides, it’s not so bad if you dry off straight after.”</p><p>Eddie’s eyes are transfixed on Richie’s messy hair, and since he has a hairbrush with him, he so badly wants to run the brush through Richie’s hair to see what his hair would look like soft and swept.</p><p>“Can I brush your hair?” Eddie asks without really thinking, his eyes big and hopeful.</p><p>Richie contemplates for a moment before exhaling heavily out of his nose, he can never say no to those big brown eyes, so of course he agrees.</p><p>Richie goes to sit down on the toilet lid, taking into consideration he is taller than Eddie and making it easier for the shorter boy to brush his hair.</p><p>When Eddie sees Richie sit down without objecting, he grabs his hairbrush, moving over to Richie and standing between his longs legs.</p><p>Eddie runs a hand through his dark hair, Richie’s hair is soft, even though it is thick and slightly knotted. Eddie’s delicate fingers fall and brush the nape of Richie’s neck as he goes over to his toiletry bag and pulls out a detangling spray.</p><p>“Woah,” Richie begins to protest. “You said you were just <em>brushing </em>my hair.”</p><p>“It’s just a detangler,” Eddie says. “It’ll make your hair easier to brush.”</p><p>Eddie sprays some of the detangler in Richie’s hair and rakes his fingers through his dark curls to distribute the product. It smells of strawberries, the same scent that lingers in Eddie’s hair, and something about that makes Richie feel tingly inside.</p><p>Richie leans further into Eddie’s touch, feeling Eddie’s fingers gently run through the knots. He didn’t know he needed to be touched so badly, but in a way that’s so innocent.</p><p>Richie swallows, looking up at Eddie with dark lashes as he grabs the hairbrush and untangles the rest of his hair with it so gently.</p><p>Eddie never realised how long Richie’s hair really is, it’s long enough to twirl around his fingers, and he thinks it may be one of Richie’s most charming features.</p><p>“How do I look?” Richie asks when Eddie’s finished brushing his hair, setting the hairbrush aside.</p><p>Eddie looks down at him with a smile. “You look very <em>handsome</em>.” Eddie says seriously, tucking one piece of stubborn hair behind Richie’s ear.</p><p>Richie feels his heart leap at Eddie’s words, the small boy lets his fingertips brush along the line of Richie’s jaw, and then he leans down and kisses Richie, making Richie’s heart jump out of his chest entirely.</p><p>Eddie sneaks his arms around Richie’s neck, pulling him closer as Richie’s hands rest on Eddie’s waist. Eddie can feel his heartbeat accelerate when Richie’s hands roam under his shirt, so Eddie pulls back, cupping Richie’s face and feeling his breath against his lips.</p><p>It’s then they both hear the door handle jiggle from the other side.</p><p>Richie quickly stands up, his head almost colliding with Eddie’s chin, forgetting the small boy is standing between his legs.</p><p>“<em>Eddie</em>, hurry up,” Stan’s voice can be heard outside the door. “I need to use the bathroom before we go.”</p><p>Eddie looks at Richie with wide eyes, panic evident on his face. Richie’s not sure what to do, because if they both walk out <em>together</em> it’s going to look bad.</p><p>Eddie looks over to the shower curtain, and Richie shakes his head. He’s not going to hide behind the shower curtain and listen to Stan piss, so instead, Richie walks over to the door and unlocks it, revealing them both on the other side.</p><p>Stan stands in the door frame, his eyes landing on Eddie stood behind Richie, the small boys lips red from kissing.</p><p>“Eddie was…” Richie trails off.</p><p>“Brushing his hair,” Eddie interjects, standing on his tip toes to twirl a lock of Richie’s hair around his fingers, as if to show Stan there are no knots, his bed head inexistent.</p><p>Even though Eddie <em>is</em> telling the truth, admitting stuff like brushing each other’s hair is something in itself, it’s as if Eddie has just confessed their love for one another right then and there.</p><p>But it’s not that they hide it, it’s <em>very </em>obvious how they behave around one another, they don’t have to be in a locked bathroom to be affectionate.</p><p>“Erm…” Stan moves aside awkwardly, letting Richie and Eddie walk out the bathroom. “Okay.”</p><p>“We were kissing!” Eddie breaks down, not being able to lie around his friends.</p><p>Richie gives Eddie a “what the fuck?!” look, because it’s not as if they lied or were doing anything wrong.</p><p>But Eddie’s never been able to hide the truth, it’s something that Richie loves about him, he’s <em>honest.</em></p><p>“Okay.” Stanley repeats himself. There’s no judgement laced in his tone, and Richie can tell Stan already knew, it’s no surprise. “Can I use the bathroom now?”</p><p>“It’s all yours,” Richie responds, guiding Eddie’s shoulders down the hall.</p><p>“I told Bill too!” Eddie admits, slapping a hand over his mouth as they descend down the basement steps, not being able to shut his mouth.</p><p>He’s becoming more like Richie every day.</p><p>They reach the bottom of the basement. “I was wondering why Bill has stopped flirting with me,” Richie jokes as he goes to slip on his shoes. “Now that explains why.”</p><p>Eddie slaps his shoulder, but it’s more of a light tap to Richie. “Don’t you mind? Now they both <em>know</em>.” Eddie asks curiously, slinging his backpack over his shoulder.</p><p>“Well, Eddie… is it better to swim or to sink?” Richie asks, quoting Eddie’s words from earlier.</p><p>“To <em>swim</em>.” Eddie answers, following behind Richie as they walk back up the basement stairs with their belongings.</p><p>“Right,” Richie responds. “We<em> can’t</em> stay in the closet forever,” he admits. “That seems like sinking to me.”</p><p>Richie <em>used</em> to be so scared of rejection, he cared <em>too</em> much about what other people thought of him, but now he has <em>grown. </em>Richie’s wilted petals of fear have fallen, and Eddie has watched them drift away with the wind.</p><p>Richie and Eddie head outside and they see Bill and Stan already at the garage. Bill wheels out there bikes from the garage, one by one, finally grabbing his bike last, which he calls <em>Silver</em>.</p><p>The four of them mount their bikes and begin riding along the streets of Derry, swiftly making their way towards Center Street.</p><p>Bill leads the way, flying downhill and passing the Paul Bunyan statue.</p><p>“Slow down!” Richie shouts with a smile as his hair blows in the wind, he pedals faster, swerving between Stan and Eddie to catch up with Bill at the front.</p><p>"Hi ho, Silver! Away!" Bill’s voice floats through the summer air, shouting the only phrase he is capable of saying without his stutter.</p><p>“Your old lady bike’s too fast for us!” Richie says, earning light laughs from Stan and Eddie following closely behind him.</p><p>The boy’s make it to the quarry, dropping their bikes under a tree as they walk up the muddy path full of overgrown weeds, the harsh texture rubs against their bare legs.</p><p>They take off their clothes and stand huddled together, shoulder to shoulder as they look out over the silent water.</p><p>Stan is the first to speak. “Can’t we just sit on the rocks,” he asks nervously. “Where it’s safe.”</p><p>“Come on, S-Stan,” Bill peers over to Stanley. “You’ll be safe if we s-stick together.”</p><p>“Yeah, Stan,” Eddie chimes in. “We won’t let anything bad happen to you.”</p><p>Richie adjusts his glasses, looking over to Stan by his side. “Don’t make me throw you in,” Richie smirks, leaning forward and giving Stan’s arm a quick squeeze.</p><p>Stan yanks his arm away from Richie, not wanting the dark haired boy to unexpectedly push him in, because that’s something Richie would do. “Okay,” Stan nods, mostly to reassure himself. “We’ll all jump… <em>together</em>.”</p><p>Bill grabs Eddie’s hand, then Eddie squeezes onto Richie’s hand, and then Richie’s hand holds onto Stanley’s.</p><p>They jump off together, entering the water with a loud splash that echoes throughout the quarry.</p><p>Eddie resurfaces from the water, spitting out some water as his long eyelashes blink away crystal droplets.</p><p>Stan harshly comes up for air, sending waves in Eddie’s direction which takes him by surprise, so Richie comes up behind Eddie, his hands grasp his small hips, keeping Eddie in place when the wave almost submerges them.</p><p>“Scared of a little wave?” Richie says into his ear as his soaking wet hair reflects purple hues under the mid day sun.</p><p>“No,” Eddie shakes his head, his wet hair pressing over Richie’s cheek. He turns to face Richie, looking up at him with a lovesick grin. “I wouldn’t even class that as a wave.” He brushes off.</p><p>Stan splashes the pair with water, laughing that he caught them off guard.</p><p>“Oh, it’s on!” Richie shouts, dunking himself under the water and lifting Eddie up on his shoulders, securely holding onto his thighs as the murky water ripples around them.</p><p>Bill wades over to Stan, letting him up on his shoulders as Eddie tries to push Stanley off, their laughs are loud, and their smiles beam like the summer sun.</p><p>Eddie raises his arms in victory when he pushes Stan off of Bill’s shoulders, he plummets into the water as Richie cheers on.</p><p>And they’re making memories to last a lifetime, choosing to <em>swim</em>, rather than to sink.</p>
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<a name="section0015"><h2>15. Chapter 15</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>i wouldn’t let myself sleep until i finished this fic… so here we are with a completed fic and a messed up sleeping schedule. </p><p>this chapter contains sexual material. i don’t like reading/writing smut so if it makes you uncomfortable you can skip to the final chapter if you wish. (hence the double update)</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The semester draws to an end, and after much anticipation, Eddie finally receives his math exam results.</p><p>“Are you going to open it?” Richie asks, looking down at the brown envelope in Eddie’s hands.</p><p>As soon as Eddie received the envelope with his final grade inside he rushed over to Richie’s house. And now they sit at the kitchen table, trying to muster up the courage to tear open the envelope.</p><p>“You’re the one who actually helped me understand this stuff…” Eddie continues. “Maybe you should be the one to open it.”</p><p> “You sure?” Richie asks as Eddie passes him the envelope.</p><p>“Yeah,” Eddie says finally, his shoulder brushing against Richie’s as he waits for his tutor to take him out of his misery.</p><p>“Alright,” Richie says, tearing open the seal and pulling out the paper.</p><p>Eddie squeezes his eyes shut, too nervous to even look at Richie’s eyes scanning over his final grade. “Did I pass?” Eddie winces.</p><p>“With flying colours!” Richie announces.</p><p>“I swear if you’re fucking with me Rich,” Eddie warns. He feels Richie’s encouraging hands touch his knees, so he opens his eyes, looking back at Richie who has an ecstatic smile on his face.</p><p>“I’m not!” Richie responds. He moves closer to Eddie and shows him the bold letter in black and white. “You got a B!”</p><p>“I’m so proud of you! That’s above average.” Richie rubs Eddie’s knee, helping the small boy take it all in.</p><p>Because Eddie is in so much shock he is unable to grasp the fact that he has<em> passed</em>.</p><p>“Thank you,” Eddie is quick to lean in for a hug, wrapping his arms around Richie’s neck and pulling him close to his chest. “I couldn’t have done it without <em>you</em>.”</p><p>“What can I say,” Eddie can feel Richie’s sincere smile on his shoulder. “Another Richie Tozier tutoring success story.” Richie adds proudly, laughing at his own joke.</p><p>“Looks like you won’t have to teach me math anymore.” Eddie says, slowly pulling away from the hug and looking up at Richie.</p><p>Richie’s eyes flicker over Eddie’s features with so much longing, his arms still wrapped around his small body.</p><p>“Then let me teach you something else.” Richie says seductively, yet <em>so </em>soft. He leans further in and closes the small distance between them, cupping Eddie’s face and caressing his strawberry cheeks with his thumbs before bringing their lips together.</p><p>Heat runs through every part of Eddie’s body as Richie’s clumsy hands run down the edges of his skin, Richie lifts Eddie’s sweater up, but the small boy reaches his hands down, stopping Richie from taking off his soft sweater.</p><p>“Not here,” Eddie says breathlessly. “How about your room?” Eddie looks up at Richie suggestively as flowers bloom in his chest. </p><p>Richie doesn’t waste a minute standing up and leading Eddie to his bedroom, he pulls him inside, checking twice that he’s locked the door.</p><p>“Are you nervous?” Eddie asks Richie as he pulls his sweater over his head, watching as the taller boy tries to unbutton his palm tree shirt with trembling hands.</p><p>“Not really,” Richie admits, looking up from the buttons of his shirt and at Eddie stood before him. “Are you?”</p><p>“A little bit,” Eddie discloses, he places his hands over Richie’s, helping him undo the second to last button on his shirt. “Is that normal?” Eddie asks.</p><p>“It’s normal,” Richie assures, watching as the smaller boy unbuttons his shirt with his small hands that are not as clumsy as his own. “But you don’t have to be nervous, it’s just <em>me</em>, Eds.”</p><p>Richie’s <em>right</em>, he doesn’t need to be nervous, because he <em>loves</em> him.</p><p>Eddie Kaspbrak is <em>in</em> love with Richie Tozier.</p><p>“I love you so much.” Eddie suddenly confesses his declaration of love for the boy who is like flowers and sunshine with velvet soft lips and messy black hair.</p><p>Richie’s eyes widen in surprise as they have never said those words to one another before, but Eddie’s words are <em>so</em> heartfelt, so sure.</p><p>Richie moves closer and places a hand on Eddie’s cheek with tenderness in his eyes and a soft smile on his lips.</p><p>“I love you too.” Richie says back.</p><p>Eddie smiles, his chest tightening with affection. All their moments leading up to now and all the B grades can never compete with those simple yet meaningful words.</p><p>Eddie covers Richie’s lips with his own, kissing his smiling mouth as they stumble over to Richie’s bed, the kiss is tender and passionate at the same time.</p><p>As Eddie’s pressed under Richie’s mattress, all he can focus on is Richie’s tongue softly tracing his collar bone like silk, and the warmth of Richie’s fingers over his skin.</p><p>Richie moves lower, and Eddie stares up at him like he’s never done before. Richie brushes his hand along Eddie’s inner thigh, just to feel Eddie’s legs quake.</p><p>Richie hooks his fingers in the waistband of his shorts. “Is this okay?” Richie asks before he continues to tug his shorts down (and his boxers).</p><p>“Yeah.”</p><p>“I thought you lost your voice for a second there, Eds,” Richie teases, a loving laugh escapes his lips when he sees the playful glare Eddie sends his way.</p><p>Richie prepares himself, making sure to take things slow before he pushes in, looking for any signs of discomfort on Eddie’s features.</p><p>Eddie closes his eyes, a few whimpers escape from his lips, focusing on the slight pain that starts to turn into pleasure.</p><p>Richie takes him deeper, which causes Eddie to grip Richie’s shoulders tightly as the pleasure becomes more intense.</p><p>“Am I hurting you?” Richie worries, his left hand cupping Eddie’s cheek. Richie leans in slightly, but before he connects their lips, he waits on an answer.</p><p>“No, no… it feels good,” Eddie is quick to interject. “<em>Don’t </em>stop.”</p><p>Richie doesn’t need to be told twice, he kisses Eddie before picking up the pace. He starts thrusting in a steady rhythm and angles his hips in a certain way that makes Eddie cry out in pleasure, so Richie continues to repeat the motion that causes Eddie to celestially tremble underneath him.</p><p>“F-Fuck… <em>Richie!”</em> Eddie moans Richie’s name like symphony as a hot pressure builds up in his lower stomach.</p><p>Richie finds Eddie<em> beautiful</em>, the way his back arches each time he presses into him, and he makes sure Eddie knows, kissing him so passionately, his tongue trailing over Eddie’s bottom lip.</p><p>Eddie moans into Richie’s mouth as soon as he presses his plump lips on his, and it sends him over the edge. Eddie sees stars bursting behind his eyelids, and before he knows it his body is pulsating in awestruck.</p><p>Eddie’s soft moans make Richie weak in every way, he falls next to Eddie on the bed, reaching over to pull him close.</p><p>Richie’s caresses give Eddie a feeling of love and tenderness, his beauty <em>shines </em>gently with honey.</p><p>It’s Richie’s divine light that leaves Eddie wanting to stay in his loving embrace ever more.</p>
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<a name="section0016"><h2>16. Chapter 16</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>final chapter!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“I’ve been reading about constellations,” Eddie speaks as the two of them get dressed, the light of the stars making an appearance through Richie’s bedroom window. “We should be able to see some really beautiful ones this time of year.”</p><p>“Come with me,” Richie says, entwining their fingers together and not giving Eddie much choice but to follow.</p><p>Eddie watches curiously as Richie leads him out of the bedroom, stopping at the sliding glass door and grabbing a nearby blanket before taking Eddie out to the backyard.</p><p>The <em>night sky</em> is just how Eddie left it.</p><p>The black void flickers with silver stars that dance to an unknown melody in the sky, and it immediately puts Eddie at ease.</p><p>Richie throws down the blanket, waiting for Eddie to lay down next to him.</p><p>“What are we doing out here?” Eddie asks, holding himself as the chilly air nips at his skin.</p><p>“I want you to show me the constellations,” Richie smiles as Eddie walks over and lays beside him.</p><p>Richie has never been one to stargaze, so seeing him lead the way to the stars is something that warms Eddie’s heart, how he shows such an interest to what Eddie has to say.</p><p>Eddie stares up at the pitch black sky, the stars reflecting in his eyes. “You see that constellation?” Eddie asks, tracing an invisible line through the sky with his finger. “That’s Orion the Hunter and his two hunting dogs, Canis Major and Canis Minor.”</p><p>Richie’s eyes follow to where Eddie is pointing, he listens to Eddie as he shows him the three stars that make up Orion's belt, the bright star Rigel that forms Orion's knee, and red orange star Betelgeuse that’s on Orion's shoulder.</p><p>Richie thinks there’s something to stargazing that he just isn’t getting, no matter how obediently he follows Eddie’s finger mapping out the constellation for him, he can’t seem to see it.</p><p>“Do you see it?” Eddie asks, dropping his arm to his side, brushing his fingers over the back of Richie’s hand.</p><p>Richie tilts his head as he tries to distinguish the pattern of stars. “Yeah, I think so.” He says as he studies the sky seriously.</p><p>Eddie looks over to Richie with a smile, the pale blue light from the elegant moon shines gently over Richie’s pearly skin. “Do you know any constellations, Rich?”</p><p>“No,” Richie admits honestly as he looks over to Eddie, who is Richie’s <em>own</em> constellation. “Is there a constellation that reminds you of me?”</p><p>Eddie looks back up at the sky, his eyes transfixed with love. “The Big Dipper maybe.”</p><p>“Is that because of my massive wang?” Richie jokes.</p><p>“That’s fucking disgusting,” Eddie scoffs. “You’re unbelievable.”</p><p>Richie laughs, turning his attention to the stars that seem to fascinate Eddie so much.</p><p>“Look, Rich,” Eddie grabs onto Richie’s hand, holding onto his finger and helping him trace the line of stars in the sky. “Those seven bright stars? That’s the Big Dipper.”</p><p>Richie focuses on his finger that Eddie points for him, tracing each tiny point of light.</p><p>“Do you see that?” Eddie prompts.</p><p>Richie can see the string of stars Eddie gestures at, forming the shape of a bent handle and a bowl which is the Big Dipper. “I see it!” Richie responds eagerly, finally being able to see the beauty in the night sky that Eddie has always been able to see.</p><p>But that’s because Eddie has had time to study the stars.</p><p>Before Eddie met Richie, when he had frequent nightmares, he would sit under his bedroom window and make out the constellations, rather than letting the darkness consume him so that rest never came.</p><p>And tonight as Eddie looks up at the blanket of stars, it’s <em>not </em>to distract himself from his nightmares, because in that moment he realises it is Richie’s presence that dissipates all his <em>nightmares</em>.</p><p>It doesn’t matter if he’s looking up at the stars or not, it’s <em>always </em>been Richie who turns his nightmares, to dreams.</p><p>“I think I found another one!” Richie smiles, guiding Eddie’s hand to a single star in the sky that doesn’t make up a constellation.</p><p>Eddie looks over to Richie pointing out constellations that are completely wrong, his head tilted up to the sky as the stars twinkle through his glasses.</p><p>And now when Eddie sees the night sky, this is what he will remember.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>end of night sky.</p><p>i can never thank you enough for all the support you have shown me. these are my first fics ever so i’m still new to writing and sharing my work... if you see the is note in particular, i appreciate you reading until the end. &lt;3</p>
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